Author: claimsbot

1. An output driver comprising:
first means for receiving an input signal and in accordance therewith generating an output signal at a first output node;
second means for applying a variable current to said first output node; and
third means for controlling the magnitude of said variable current in accordance with said output signal;
wherein said third means includes a first circuit adapted to generate a first controlling current in accordance with said output signal, and
wherein said second means includes a first current mirror adapted to receive said first controlling current and output a scaled version of said first controlling current to said first output node.
2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said output driver is implemented differentially.
3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said first means includes an input circuit adapted to receive a first input signal and a second input signal and in accordance therewith output first and second output signals.
4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said input circuit includes a differential pair comprising transistors Q1 and Q2 adapted to receive said first and second input signals, respectively, and output said first and second output signals, respectively.
5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said differential pair is biased by a first current source I1.
6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said first means further includes an output circuit adapted to receive said first and second output signals from said input circuit and in accordance therewith generate third and fourth output signals at said first output node and a second output node, respectively.
7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said first circuit is adapted to receive said first and second output signals from said input circuit and in accordance therewith generate first and second controlling currents.
8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said second means further includes a second current mirror adapted to receive said second controlling current and output a scaled version of said second controlling current to said second output node.
9. The invention of claim 8 wherein said first controlling current is relatively large and said second controlling current is relatively small when said first input signal is more negative than said second input signal.
10. The invention of claim 9 wherein said first controlling current is relatively small and said second controlling current is relatively large when said first input signal is more positive than said second input signal.
11. The invention of claim 7 wherein said first circuit includes cascode transistors Q11 and Q12 coupled to said first and second output signals from said input circuit.
12. The invention of claim 11 wherein said cascode transistors Q11 and Q12 are biased by a second current source I2 and a third current source I3, respectively.
13. The invention of claim 12 wherein said current source I2 is slightly larger than I1.
14. The invention of claim 13 wherein said current source I3 is slightly larger than I1.
15. The invention of claim 12 wherein the emitter of Q11 is connected to the collector of Q1 through a resistor R1, and the emitter of Q12 is connected to the collector of Q2 through a resistor R2.
16. The invention of claim 15 wherein the collector of Q11 is coupled to said current source I2 and the collector of Q12 is coupled to said current source I3.
17. The invention of claim 16 wherein the collector of Q11 is also coupled to an input of said second current mirror, thereby supplying said second controlling current to said second current mirror.
18. The invention of claim 17 wherein the collector of Q12 is also coupled to an input of said first current mirror, thereby supplying said first controlling current to said first current mirror.
19. The invention of claim 12 wherein said first circuit further includes fourth means for providing a trickle current between said transistors Q11 and Q12.
20. The invention of claim 19 wherein said fourth means includes a resistor connected between the emitters of Q11 and Q12.
21. The invention of claim 20 wherein said current sources I2 and I3 both equal I1.
22. The invention of claim 6 wherein said output circuit includes a transistor Q13 adapted to receive said first output signal and in accordance therewith generate said third output signal at said first output node.
23. The invention of claim 6 wherein said output circuit includes a transistor Q14 adapted to receive said second output signal and in accordance therewith generate said fourth output signal at said second output node.
24. The invention of claim 6 wherein said output circuit includes a first Darlington pair adapted to receive said first output signal and in accordance therewith generate said third output signal at said first output node.
25. The invention of claim 6 wherein said output circuit includes a second Darlington pair adapted to receive said second output signal and generate said fourth output signal at said second output node.
26. The invention of claim 24 wherein said first current mirror is further adapted to generate a second scaled version of said first controlling current for biasing said first Darlington pair.
27. The invention of claim 25 wherein said second current mirror is further adapted to generate a second scaled version of said second controlling current for biasing said second Darlington pair.
28. An output driver comprising:
a first circuit for receiving an input signal and in accordance therewith generating an output signal at an output node;
a second circuit for generating a variable current in accordance with said output signal; and
a current mirror for generating a scaled version of said variable current and applying said scaled current to said output node.
29. A differential output driver comprising:
an input circuit for receiving first and second input signals and in accordance therewith generating first and second output signals;
an output circuit adapted to receive said first and second output signals and in accordance therewith generate third and fourth output signals at a first output node and a second output node, respectively;
a circuit adapted to receive said first and second output signals from said input circuit and in accordance therewith generate first and second controlling currents;
a first current mirror adapted to receive said first controlling current and apply a scaled version of said first controlling current to said first output node; and
a second current mirror adapted to receive said second controlling current and apply a scaled version of said second controlling current to said second output node.

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 method comprising:
determining, by a served user equipment (UE), a downlink signal to noise ratio (SNIR) between the served UE and a serving base station;
computing an uplink transmit power level as a function of the downlink SNIR; and
transmitting uplink data, from the served UE, over physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein computing an uplink transmit power level as a function of the downlink SNIR comprises:
determining the uplink transmit power level by summing a full power control (FPC) transmit power level, a product of a first adjustment factor (\u03b2) and the downlink SNIR, and a negative of a second adjustment factor (\u03942) when the product of the first adjustment factor (\u03b2) and the downlink SNIR is greater than or equal to the second adjustment factor (\u03942).
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first adjustment factor (\u03b2) is provided to the serving UE by the serving base station.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second adjustment factor (\u03942) is provided to the serving UE by the serving base station.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the downlink SNIR and the uplink power control algorithm further comprises:
setting the uplink transmit power level to a maximum power level when the product of a first adjustment factor (\u03b2) and the downlink SNIR is less than the second adjustment factor (\u03942).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein computing an uplink transmit power level as a function of the downlink SNIR comprises:
determining the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the following:
Ptx=P\u0192+max(0,\u03b2SINRDL\u2212\u03942),
where Ptx is the uplink transmit power level, P\u0192 is a full power control (FPC) transmit power level, \u03b2 is a first adjustment factor, SNIRDL is the downlink SNIR, and \u03942 is a second adjustment factor.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, by the served UE, control signaling from the serving base station, wherein the control signaling specifies which parameters to use when computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the function of the downlink SNIR.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the control signaling specifies at least one of an alpha parameter and a beta parameter for computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the function of the downlink SNIR.
9. A served user equipment (UE) comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
determine a downlink signal to noise ratio (SNIR) between the served UE and a serving base station;
compute an uplink transmit power level as a function of the downlink SNIR; and
transmit uplink data over physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
10. A method comprising:
receiving, by a served UE, a message indicating target interference levels associated with neighboring base stations;
computing an uplink transmit power level as a function of the target interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations; and
transmitting uplink data, from the served UE, over the PUSCH resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein computing the uplink transmit power level as a function of the target interference levels comprises:
determining path loss parameters between the served UE and each of the neighboring base stations; and
selecting, based on the path loss parameters, the uplink transmit power level such that interference experienced at the neighboring base stations as a result of the uplink transmission by the served UE does not exceed the target interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations.
12. A served user equipment (UE) comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
receive a message indicating target interference levels associated with neighboring base stations;
compute an uplink transmit power level as a function of the target interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations; and
transmit uplink data over physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
13. A method comprising:
receiving, by a served user equipment (UE), a message indicating current interference levels associated with neighboring base stations;
computing, by the served UE, an uplink transmit power level as a function of the current interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations; and
transmitting uplink data from the served UE, over physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the message specifies which parameters to use when computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the function of the current interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the control signaling specifies at least one of an alpha parameter and a beta parameter for computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the function of the current interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein computing an uplink transmit power level as a function of the current interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations comprises:
determining, by the served UE, interference ratios for the neighboring base stations, wherein a corresponding one of the interference ratios
(
q
i
\u03bb
i
)
for a given one of the neighboring base stations (BSi) comprises a ratio between an expected interference component (qi) attributable to the served UE experienced by the given neighboring base station and a current interference level (\u03bbi) for the given neighboring base station; and
computing, by the served UE, the power adjustment factor in accordance with the interference ratios for the serving base stations.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein computing the power adjustment factor in accordance with the interference ratios for the neighboring base stations comprises:
obtaining a delta-power parameter (\u03b4P) in accordance with the interference ratios for the neighboring base stations and a received signal power level (Sf) of the serving base station; and
computing the power adjustment factor as a function of the delta-power parameter (\u03b4P).
18. The method of claim 17, wherein obtaining the delta-power parameter (\u03b4P) in accordance with the interference ratios for the neighboring base stations and the received signal power level (Sf) of the serving base station comprises:
computing the delta-power parameter (\u03b4P) in accordance with the following:
\u03b4
\ue89e
\ue89e
P

=
S
f

–

10
\ue89e
log
(
\u2211
i

\ue89e

(
q
i
\u03bb
i
)
)

.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein computing the power adjustment factor as a function of the delta-power parameter (\u03b4P) comprises:
computing the power adjustment factor in accordance with the following:
\u0394P=\u03b2(\u03b4P)\u2212\u03942,
where \u03b2 is a first adjustment factor, and \u03942 is a second adjustment factor.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the target interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations and the uplink power control algorithm comprises:
computing the uplink transmit power level in accordance with the following:
P
tx

=
P
f

+

\u03b2
(
S
f

–

10
\ue89e

log
(
\u2211
i

\ue89e

(
q
i
\u03bb
i
)
)
)

–

\u0394
\ue89e
\ue89e
2
,
where Ptx the uplink transmit power level, P\u0192 is a full power control (FPC) transmit power level, \u03b2 is a first adjustment factor, qi is an interference component attributable to the served UE experienced by a given one of the neighboring base stations, \u03bbi is a target interference power for the given base station, and \u03942 is a second adjustment factor.
21. A served user equipment (UE) comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
receive a message indicating current interference levels associated with neighboring base stations;
compute an uplink transmit power level as a function of the current interference levels associated with the neighboring base stations; and
transmit uplink data over physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources in accordance with uplink transmit power level.
22. A method comprising:
receiving, by a served user equipment (UE), an instruction from a serving base station, the instruction instructing the served UE to iteratively reduce an uplink transmit power level of the served UE until an interference level experienced by a neighboring base station has fallen below a threshold; and
iteratively reducing the uplink transmit power level of the served UE over a sequence of time intervals until an instruction to resume a normal power control procedure is received from the serving base station.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein iteratively reducing the transmit power level of the served UE over the sequence of time intervals until the instruction to resume the normal power control procedure is received from the serving base station comprises:
determining the uplink transmit power level by summing a full power control (FPC) transmit power level, a product of a first adjustment factor (\u03b2) and the downlink SNIR, and a negative of a second adjustment factor (\u03942); and
iteratively reducing the first adjustment factor (\u03b2) over the sequence of time intervals until the instruction to resume the normal power control procedure is received from the serving base station.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of caching data files comprising:
providing a first computer;
providing a second computer;
establishing a peer to peer network relationship between said first computer and said second computer;
conveying a file from said first computer to said second computer;
caching said file.
2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said caching said file comprises:
caching said file at a caching computer.
3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said caching said file comprises:
caching said file at a location where said second computer is located.
4. The method as described in claim 1 and further comprising:
receiving a request for said file at said first computer from a third computer.
5. The method as described in claim 4 and further comprising:
directing said third computer to obtain said file from said caching computer.
6. The method as described in claim 5 and further comprising:
establishing communications between said third computer and said caching computer; and
conveying said file to said third computer.
7. The method as described in claim 1 and further comprising:
providing an intermediate computer to facilitate communications between said first computer and said third computer;
intercepting a request of said third computer for said file.
8. The method as described in claim 7 and further comprising:
directing said third computer to said caching computer so as to obtain said file.
9. The method as described in claim 7 and further comprising:
utilizing said intermediate computer as said caching computer.
10. The method as described in claim 1 and further comprising:
utilizing a global communication network to establish said peer to peer relationship.
11. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:
establishing a peer to peer relationship between a first computer and a second computer;
receiving a first request for a file of the first computer from the second computer;
conveying said file from the first computer to the second computer;
caching said file.
12. The computer readable medium as described in claim 11 wherein said method further comprises:
receiving a request for said file from a third computer.
13. The computer readable medium as described in claim 11 wherein said method further comprises:
storing said file at a caching computer for access by additional computers that request said file.
14. The computer readable medium as described in claim 11 wherein said method further comprises:
caching said file at a location where said second computer is located.
15. The computer readable medium as described in claim 11 wherein said method further comprises:
receiving a request for said file at said first computer from a third computer.
16. The computer readable medium as described in claim 15 and further comprising:
directing said third computer to obtain said file from said caching computer.
17. The computer readable medium as described in claim 11 and further comprising:
utilizing a global communication network to establish said peer to peer relationship.

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 stent being expandable from an unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
a first linkage section comprising a housing, the housing comprising a chamber and at least one engagement opening in communication with the chamber; and
a second linkage section comprising an elongate body and a plurality of arm members, the elongate body being unitary with the arm members, the arm members extending in alternating circumferential directions from the elongate body, each of the arm members being longitudinally offset from all other arm members along the elongate body, at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening of the housing of the first linkage section,
wherein a distal end of the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening is housed within the chamber of the housing of the first linkage section when the stent is in the unexpanded and expanded states, the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the first linkage section relative to the elongate body during expansion of the stent from the unexpanded state to the expanded state.
2. The stent of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one engagement opening of the housing comprises a pair of engagement openings,
the second linkage section comprises a pair of arm members, the pair of arm members comprising a first arm member and a second arm member, the pair of arm members being configured to engage with the pair of engagement openings of the housing of the first linkage section, and
wherein the housing comprises another opening spaced longitudinally intermediate the pair of engagement openings for receiving a third arm member, wherein the third arm member is disposed between the pair of arm members within the housing of the first linkage section when the stent is in the unexpanded state.
3. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one engagement opening extends circumferentially.
4. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening of the second linkage section defines a circumferential length and the chamber of the housing of the first linkage section defines a chamber length, wherein the circumferential length of the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening is approximately equal to the chamber length.
5. The stent of claim 4, wherein the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening is received entirely within the chamber when the stent is in the unexpanded state.
6. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one engagement opening of the first linkage section comprises first and second engagement openings, the first engagement opening and the second engagement opening extending circumferentially such that the housing can receive opposing arm members within the chamber thereof.
7. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening comprises a plurality of teeth, and wherein the chamber is configured to receive the each of the teeth in the unexpanded state, and wherein each of the teeth being disposed outside the chamber in the expanded state.
8. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening comprises an end stop configured to limit the maximum stent expansion of the first linkage section relative to the second linkage section.
9. The stent of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a clearence elements configured to inhibit initial expansion of the stent.
10. The stent of claim 9, wherein each clearance element engages with the distal end of the at least one of the arm members when the stent is in the unexpanded state.
11. The stent of claim 1, wherein the chamber is at least partly radially enclosed.
12. The stent of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a shielding component extending longitudinally across the chamber and being configured to align the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening in the chamber, the shielding being radially offset from the chamber.
13. The stent of claim 1, wherein the plurality of arm members comprises a first plurality that circumferentially extends from a first side of the second linkage section and a second plurality that circumferentially extends from a second side of the second linkage section, the first and second pluralities comprising different numbers of arm members.
14. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one engagement opening of the first linkage section comprises a first number of engagement openings disposed on a first side of the housing and a second number of engagement openings disposed on a second side of the housing, wherein the first and second numbers of engagement openings are different.
15. The stent of claim 1, wherein the elongate body and the plurality of arm members are fixedly connected.
16. A stent being expandable from a fully unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
a longitudinally extending first linkage section comprising a housing, the housing comprising a chamber and a plurality of longitudinally spaced engagement openings in communication with the chamber; and
a longitudinally extending second linkage section comprising an elongate body and a plurality of arm members being fixed relative to the elongate body and each defining a circumferential length, the arm members being longitudinally spaced and extending from first and second opposing sides of the elongate body in opposing circumferential directions, the arm members extending from the first opposing side being configured to engage with the housing of the first linkage section and to have substantially the entire circumferential length thereof received within the chamber of the housing when the stent is in the fully unexpanded state,
wherein the arm members are configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the first linkage section relative to the second linkage section during expansion of the stent from the fully unexpanded state to the expanded state.
17. The stent of claim 16, wherein the arm members of the second linkage section extend alternatingly from the first and second opposing sides of the elongate body.
18. The stent of claim 16, wherein the second linkage section comprises a pair of arm members configured to engage with a pair of corresponding engagement openings of the housing of the first linkage section.
19. The stent of claim 18, wherein the housing comprises another opening spaced longitudinally intermediate the pair of corresponding openings for receiving a third arm member, wherein the third arm member is disposed between the pair of arm members within the housing of the first linkage section when the stent is in the fully unexpanded state.
20. The stent of claim 16, wherein the chamber defines a chamber length and the circumferential length of the arm members is approximately equal to the chamber length.
21. The stent of claim 16, wherein the chamber is at least partly radially enclosed.
22. The stent of claim 16, wherein the housing further comprises a shielding component extending longitudinally across the chamber and being configured to maintain an alignment of the arm members that are received in the chamber.
23. The stent of claim 16, wherein the first opposing side of the elongate body has a different number of arm members extending therefrom than the second opposing side of the elongate body.
24. The stent of claim 16, wherein the plurality of longitudinally spaced engagement openings comprises a first set disposed on a first side of the housing and a second set disposed on a second side of the housing, wherein the number of engagement openings in the first set is different than the number of engagement openings in the second set.
25. The stent of claim 16, wherein the housing further comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending walls that are offset a circumferential distance from each other, the circumferential distance being substantially unchanged as the stent expands from the fully unexpanded state to the expanded state.
26. A stent being expandable from an unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
a first linkage section comprising a first structural element, the first structural element comprising a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side each comprising at least one engagement opening, the at least one engagement opening of the first side being spaced at a substantially constant circumferential offset from the at least one engagement opening of the second side, the substantially constant circumferential offset remaining substantially constant as the stent expands from the unexpanded state to the expanded state;
a second linkage section comprising a second elongate body and a plurality of second arm members being fixed relative to the second elongate body, the second arm members being longitudinally spaced and extending from opposing sides of the second elongate body in opposing circumferential directions, at least some of the second arm members being configured to slidably engage with at least one of the at least one engagement opening on the first side of the first structural element; and
a third linkage section comprising a third elongate body and a plurality of third arm members, the third arm members being longitudinally spaced and extending from opposing sides of the third elongate body in opposing circumferential directions, at least some of the third arm members being configured to slidably engage with at least one of the at least one engagement opening on the second side of the first structural element,
wherein the second linkage section and the third linkage section are configured to provide one-way separation relative to each other and the first linkage section during expansion of the stent from the unexpanded state to the expanded state.
27. The stent of claim 26, wherein the first structural element comprises a housing that defines a chamber, the at least one engagement opening of the first side and the at least one engagement opening of the second side being in communication with the chamber, wherein at least one of the first and second sides includes a plurality of engagement openings configured to slidably receive at least one second arm member and at least one third arm member such that the at least one second arm member and the at least one third arm member are at least partially disposed within the chamber of the housing.
28. The stent of claim 27, wherein the chamber is at least partly radially enclosed.
29. The stent of claim 27, wherein the housing further comprises a shielding component extending longitudinally across the chamber and being configured to maintain an alignment of the second arm and third arm members.
30. The stent of claim 26, wherein the first linkage section comprises a plurality of first structural elements for interconnecting with second arm members and third arm members.
31. The stent of claim 30, wherein the plurality of first structural elements are interconnected to each other with a longitudinal backbone.
32. The stent of claim 26, wherein the second arm members of the second linkage section extend alternatingly from the opposing sides of the second elongate body, and the third arm members of the third linkage section extend alternatingly from the opposing sides of the third elongate body.
33. The stent of claim 26, wherein the first side of the first structural element has a different number of engagement openings than the second side of the first structural element.
34. The stent of claim 26, wherein the second and third linkage sections are configured to circumferentially move relative to the first linkage section and relative to each other during expansion of the stent.