Abstract:
A receiver (124) is connected to a satellite communication network (114-118). The receiver (124) includes a satellite receiver card for receiving a packet containing data from the satellite communication network and a satellite receive device driver (130), associated with the satellite receiver card, for outputting the data in the packet in a format using a predetermined standard LAN interface format. The receiver may also include a key distribution unit (126) for providing the satellite receiver card with keys for decrypting the data in the packet when the data is encrypted. The satellite receive device driver (130) sends the satellite receiver card a list of addresses corresponding to destination addresses of interest, and the satellite receiver card discards the received packet if its destination address is not in the list of addresses.
Abstract:
A system for energizing a fluorescent lamp by a current having an adjustable level of magnitude that is independent of the voltage across the fluorescent tube, which current is non-pulsing with the polarity being periodically changed at the conventional, 60Hz rate of the AC power line by an electronic commutator, which commutator provides switching of the polarities at very sharp rise times, allowing use of relatively small components with the low frequencies, and the power factor of the input current is processed to a desired power factor. The constant current magnitude is adjustable over a wide range, which current settings are independent of the AC power line voltage and independent of the voltage across the lamp.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for an adaptor card (40), for use in a computer (50), to provide conditional access by the computer (50) to incoming data streams while maintaining the security of information by maintaining a listing of addresses corresponding to data streams which the computer (50) is authorized to receive, receiving and determining the address of a frame, determining whether the frame address matches an address maintained in an Access Table, and processing and transmitting only those frames of data streams with the computer (50) is authorized to receive.
Abstract:
A system for the formation of circuit patterns on a large flat panel display (78) using plasma assisted chemical etching to achieve a uniform or controllably non-uniform etch depth over the entire area of the display. An overlying film (60) is provided on a large flat panel display substrate (12) with a photolithographic mask (62) overlying the film and having a predetermined pattern of openings (64) therethrough. The substrate is placed adjacent a plasma etching tool which has a projected area which is smaller than the area of the surface of the substrate. The etching tool is scanned across the surface of the substrate to transfer the pattern of the photolithographic mask into the film on the surface thereof. Thereafter, the photolithographic mask is removed from the surface of the overlying film. It is desirable to determine thickness profile data for the overlying film, then generate a dwell time versus position map for the overlying film and remove material from the exposed regions of the overlying film according to the dwell time versus position map. The substrate may be glass and the film may be silicon in either the amorphous or polycrystalline states.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a wireless personal communications system or WPCS. The system includes at least one radio port (50), at least one radio port controller (60), and at least two subscriber units (20). The system is operable such that: a) two of the subscriber units (20) can communicate with each other directly through one of the radio ports (50); b) two of the subscriber units (20) can communicate with each other via two respective radio ports (50) which are directly coupled by way of a radio port controller (60); and/or c) two of the subscriber units (20) can communicate directly with each other using a walkie-talkie option. The system is also operable so as to allow a plurality of the subscriber units (50) to be individually accessed using a single dialed number.
Abstract:
A method for specifying a video window's boundary coordinates (98) directly from a multi-color video signal (20) to separate the signals high (32) and low (35) variance components. The method converts the analog multi-color video signal into respective color sequences of digital frames (30) and transforms them into another sequence of digital frames (49) that represent the intensity of the multi-color video signal. The method generates difference frames (51) between successive transformed intensity frames and computes a row activity measure (81) and a column activity measure (82) from at least one of the difference frames. The video window's approximate boundary coordinates are determined from said row and column activity measures.
Abstract:
A machine independent high resolution digital screen recorder (12) is disclosed for providing high quality video displays with manageable storage capacity and bandwidth. The screen recorder includes an analog to digital frame grabber (24) for converting a high resolution video signal (20) that modulates a video display (14) into RGB sequences of digital frames (30). A video compression unit (26) separates the high and low variance portions of the digital frames, encodes them with respective lossy (56) and lossless (54) compression algorithms and stores them in a mass storage device (28).
Abstract:
A missile includes a missile body and a structure for controlling the flight path of the missile body. The control structure includes at least one control fin (28) and an actuator shaft (40) that supports the control fin (28) for rotational missile control movement about a control axis (30) prependicular to the axis of the missile body. A deployment shaft (42) extending from the control fin is rotatable in a deployment shaft bore (46) in the actuator shaft (40) and permits the control fin to rotate from a folded position parallel and adjacent to the missile body to an extended position parallel to the control axis.
Abstract:
A method of encoding a signal containing speech is employed in a bit rate Codebook Excited Linear Predictor (CELP) communication system. The system includes a transmitter that organizes a signal containing speech into frames of 40 millisecond duration, and classifies each frame as one of three modes: voiced and stationary, unvoiced or transient, and background noise.
Abstract:
A method for automatically displaying map symbology in a Geographic Information System. In the method, a computer (18) retrieves records (21, 22 and 23) from a data base (20) for each map feature that lies within the extent of the displayed portion (42) of the map (15). The records (22) for point features are organized in "flat" structures (48) where each map feature is represented by a single symbol (16), and in multi-level "hierarchical" structures (54) where each feature is represented by a hierarchy of symbols (16) representing different resolutions of the map features. For a hierarchical symbol structure, the level of records retrieved (62) by the computer is determined by the scale (44) of the map displayed to the screen (14). The computer determines (64), for each symbol (16) at the particular map scale (44), whether the symbol extensively overlaps any other symbol. The symbols that overlap significantly are modified (66) to reduce the clutter by either merging (98) the overlapping symbols into a single symbol including a numeric identifier or replacing (124) the symbol and its siblings by the single parent symbol in the hierarchy. The symbols (16) from the modified records (22) are displayed (70) to the screen (15).