Many users would prefer that their network devices be versatile and compact in their functionality. Thus, Cable modems are often provided with Cable interface connections, but also with local wireless access, e.g., via a WLAN Access Point. In this manner, the user may receive Internet access, television, and other services along their Cable connection. They can place the single Cable modem at one location in their home or office and interface their remaining wireless and Cable devices through the single, compact interface.
Unfortunately, the dual presence of Cable and WLAN devices in a single device can result in suboptimal wireless performance. Cable signals present either within the Cable modem or in wires leading to/from the modem can operate at frequencies having harmonics that may degrade wireless performance. Thus, users are often forced to purchase a separate access point which they connect with the Cable modem at a location with less interference. The Cable modem is consequently less versatile and fails to provide the unified functionality the user desired. Such redundant purchasing of wireless capability by the user often diminishes the user's valuation of the dual wireless modem.
While the flow and sequence diagrams presented herein show an organization designed to make them more comprehensible by a human reader, those skilled in the art will appreciate that actual data structures used to store this information may differ from what is shown, in that they, for example, may be organized in a different manner; may contain more or less information than shown; may be compressed and/or encrypted; etc.
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed embodiments. Further, the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments. Similarly, some components and/or operations may be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for the purposes of discussion of some of the embodiments. Moreover, while the various embodiments are amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosed embodiments as defined by the appended claims.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds