Abstract: The invention is a modular assembly of modular objects for autonomously executing a variety of tasks. The modular assembly consists of a modular object called a platform, one or more modular objects called modules which are mounted to the platform in accordance with a modular assembly system, and a modular bus system for distributing electrical power and electrical signals among the modular objects in the modular assembly. The modular assembly system utilizes modular object fasteners (MOFs) and MOF-accommodating features of modular objects for facilitating the attachment of a plurality of modular objects to one another thereby creating a modular assembly in any one of a variety of configurations, an MOF being activatable when object attachment surfaces associated with two modular objects are superimposed and two object attachment points on the object attachment surfaces coincide.

Abstract: The invention is a mobile pan and tilt camera and display-control apparatus comprising (1) a fully rotatable camera mounted to a vehicle for capturing images, (2) a display-control box having an image display screen and control buttons for controlling the camera and its movement, and (3) an image capture box for storing the captured images or transmitting the captured images to a remote location. The display-control box is attached to an adjustable mount in the vehicle within an operator's view and reach.

Abstract: The electronic identification system provides two-way communications between reader and tags using alternating magnetic fields established by the reader and tag. Communication is accomplished by utilizing either a one-step or a two-step modulation process in which the information to be communicated either modulates an alternating magnetic field directly or modulates a periodic signal which modulates an alternating magnetic field. The coil in the reader that is used to establish an alternating magnetic field is transformer-coupled through capacitors to a push-pull driving circuit consisting of four field-effect transistors connected in a bridge arrangement. The coil, capacitors, and coupling circuitry are maintained in a tuned condition by continually adjusting either the driving frequency, the coil inductance, or the capacitor capacitance during communications.

Abstract: The invention is a high-power transconductance circuit (HVTC) comprising three direct-coupled stages which can be substituted for a final-stage power-amplifying vacuum tube in an audio amplifier. The HVTC consists of an input stage, a driver stage, an output stage, and a power conditioner. The input to the HVTC is a composite signal consisting of an AC component and a DC component. The input stage conditions the input composite signal for input to the driver stage. The driver stage transforms the input composite signal into the driving signal for the output stage. The output stage utilizes one or more power transistors to drive a load. The power conditioner supplies regulated power to the HVTC. The input composite signal is direct-coupled through the input stage and the driver stage to the output stage.

Abstract: The invention is an apparatus and process for obtaining values for one or more alignment quantities using one or more transportable devices. The process consists of establishing and maintaining a transportable device in a reference position and a reference orientation, then establishing and maintaining the transportable device in a fixed position and orientation with respect to a target object, then determining the transportable object's position and orientation with respect to the target object from measurements of acceleration and angular velocity of the transportable device as it moves from the reference position and orientation to the fixed position and orientation with respect to the target object, determining the position and orientation of the target object from the position and orientation of the transportable device, repeating the preceding steps as required to obtain position and orientation data for other target objects, and finally determining the values of the alignment quantities.

Abstract: An apparatus for increasing efficiency and reducing heat dissipation in power converters is disclosed. Zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) can reduce switching loss of power converters but it often results in a very complicated design and only works well under constant output current. In order to allow the ZVS to work over a wide loading range, the transformer secondary current is blocked when the primary starts to resonate. Hence, the resonant voltage waveform across the switch will not change even when the loading current is changing. Such a resonant voltage waveform is obtained with the aid of the transformer primary inductance and capacitor(s). Also provided is a novel driving circuit which controls the switching. Alternatives and variations of this apparatus can be made to satisfy different applications such as power conversion and power inversion. The subject power converter significantly lowers the heat loss and achieves higher efficiency for very wide loading ranges.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for repetitively executing a plurality of software packages at a plurality of rates utilizing a common set of computational resources. The method consists of counting contiguous time increments and executing a plurality of software packages. Each software package is executed during each time increment in one or more sequences of time increments. The time increments in each sequence recur at a predetermined rate, and the time increments assigned to one software package do not overlap the time increments assigned to any other of the plurality of software packages.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for exercising surveillance over a surface from an observation point above the surface utilizing three-dimensional map data pertaining to the surface. The method comprises the steps (1) intercepting the light rays from a surface in a field of view, (2) separating the intercepted light rays into a plurality of light-ray clusters, a light-ray cluster comprising a plurality of light-ray bundles, a light-ray bundle being the light rays from a point on the surface in the field of view, a light-ray cluster being the light-ray bundles from a region of contiguous points on the surface, (3) determining the map coordinates of each region from which a light-ray cluster comes, (4) obtaining a measure of the radiant power and/or color of each light-ray cluster at predetermined time intervals, and (5) identifying the map coordinates of a surface activity from measurements of the radiant power of the light-ray clusters.

Abstract: The universal electronic identification tag is for use with a variety of readers of different designs including a control reader which can be used to control the operations of the universal tag. A reader interrogates a tag by transmitting a carrier. The universal tag comprises a transducer, a modulator connected across the transducer, and a control means. The control means causes the modulator to drive the transducer with a plurality of different message waveforms after interrogation by a reader, the tag identity being embedded in each of the message waveforms. The message waveforms can be transmitted either simultaneously, sequentially, or both ways. A message waveform is comprised of a sequence of contiguous waveform segments, each waveform segment representing the value of an N-bit group, N being an integer. A waveform segment is a periodic signal characterized by the parameters frequency, phase, and amplitude.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of an inertial navigation system. The method comprises (1) obtaining a measure of the angular velocity of a body frame of reference having a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis, (2) obtaining a measure of the acceleration of a first reference point in the direction of the first axis, a second reference point in the direction of the second axis, and a third reference point in the direction of the third axis, the first, second, and third reference points being fixed in the body frame, and (3) determining compensated acceleration values. A compensated acceleration value is the difference of the measure of acceleration of a reference point and a compensation quantity. A compensation quantity is an estimate of the portion of the acceleration of the reference point resulting from the rotation of the body frame. The method further comprises establishing the optimum navigation center based on a criterion of goodness.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for embedding an implant of a special design in bone tissue in a way that encourages bone tissue growth in and around the implant thereby achieving greater attachment security over longer periods of time. The user employs a bone-fragment collecting drill to form the bone-tissue hole and deliver the resulting bone fragments to a collecting region. The user crumbles the bone fragments by placing them in the lower of two mating spoon-shaped jaws of a pliers-like device and repeatedly opening and closing the jaws until the bone fragments are crumbled. The surface of the implant is equipped with one or more embedded helical channels and through-holes to permit bone growth into the implant. The installation of the implant consists of partially filling the bone-tissue hole with bone crumbs, packing the helical channels and through-holes with bone crumbs, and installing the implant in the bone-tissue hole.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for processing signals with frequencies fL and fR from a multioscillator ring laser gyro, the method being repeated at regular time intervals. The difference f&Dgr;&thgr;, of fL and fR is a measure of the angular rotation rate of the ring laser gyro and the sum fF of fL and fR divided by 2 is the Faraday bias frequency. The first step of the method comprises determining two or more of the values MLP, MRP, MFP, and M&Dgr;&thgr;P of a set of functions ML(fL), MR(fR), MF(fF), and M&Dgr;&thgr;(f&Dgr;&thgr;). The second step comprises storing two or more processed values MLS, MRS, MFS, and M&Dgr;&thgr;S of the functions ML(fL), MR(fR), MF(fF), and M&Dgr;&thgr;(f&Dgr;&thgr;) if the corresponding values of MLP, MRP, MFP, and M&Dgr;&thgr;P are valid. A processed value is derived from the value for the present time interval and zero or more processed values for prior time intervals.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for transmitting the light from one or more transmitting arrays of optical devices to one or more receiving arrays of optical devices where each optical device in a transmitting array transmits an initially diverging light beam to a single optical device in a receiving array. Each optical device in a receiving array receives a converging light beam from a single optical device in a transmitting array. The method consists of imaging the optical devices in one or more transmitting arrays on the optical devices in one or more receiving arrays. The light rays from each optical device in a transmitting array are superimposed on the light rays from the other optical devices in the transmitting array while traversing a common volume.

Abstract: The coil in the reader that is used to establish an alternating magnetic field is transformer-coupled through capacitors to a push-pull driving circuit consisting of four field-effect transistors connected in a bridge arrangement. The coil, capacitors, and coupling circuitry are maintained in a tuned condition by continually adjusting either the driving frequency, the coil inductance, or the capacitor capacitance during communications. A tag utilizes a coil to couple with the reader's alternating magnetic field and a capacitor to resonate the coil, thereby extracting power from the field more efficiently. Transformer coupling of the coil and capacitor is utilized for improved impedance matching. The coil, capacitor, and coupling circuitry can be maintained in a tuned condition by continually adjusting either the coil inductance, or the capacitor capacitance during communications. Certain configurations of the system may require that tuning maintenance be discontinued during the transmission of data.

Abstract: Apparatus for opening and closing electrical circuits including one or more normally-open switches and normally-closed switches. A normally-open switch includes at least one MOSFET assembly consisting of a plurality of MOSFETs of different current-carrying capacities connected in parallel and circuitry for turning on the MOSFETs in time sequence. The normally-closed switch includes a pnp bipolar transistor, an npn bipolar transistor, and a circuit for short-circuiting the emitter-base junctions of the two transistors. The base and the collector of the npn transistor are connected respectively to the collector and the base of the pnp transistor. The normally-open and normally-closed switches both include a means for accommodating a current flow in either direction through the switch terminals.

Abstract: The invention is an apparatus consisting of a set of parts that can be assembled into a variety of internal-combustion engine analogs. The set of parts comprises a set of platform parts that can be assembled into a platform having a platform rotary axis and a platform reference axis normal to the platform rotary axis and a set of driver parts that can be assembled with a set of platform parts into a driver assembly supported by the platform. The driver assembly comprises one or more drivers, each driver containing a first driver point and a second driver point. The first driver point travels back and forth along a driver line segment while the second driver point travels in a driver circle around a driver-assembly rotary axis.

Abstract: The invention is a real-time programming method (RTPM) for use in writing application programs to be executed by virtual machines and a method practiced by a real-time virtual machine (RTVM) while executing an application program written in accordance with a real-time programming method. The invention also includes a method for translating an RTPM programming language into a second programming language, the RTPM programming language being an extended version of the second programming language. The RTPM programming language includes real-time code expressions for specifying real-time execution requirements. The method of translating the real-time code expressions is such that the execution of a second-language translation of a RTPM-language application program complies with the real-time execution requirements on a best-effort basis. The RTPM utilizes a configure method and a negotiate method.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for adjusting the phase and frequency of a received GPS signal in an inertial-GPS navigation system by inputting a delta-phase at delta-time intervals into the received satellite signal. The method comprises the steps of determining two delta-phase components: (a) a Kalman delta-phase component derived from a plurality of candidate Kalman delta-phase components obtained by performing a first set of more than one Kalman filter processes and (b) an IMU delta-phase component derived from the IMU outputs and a direction-cosine matrix that translates the body coordinates of the IMU into the navigation coordinates of the inertial-GPS navigation system.

Abstract: An extended-range reader for use in identifying the tag of an object. The reader includes a winding of conducting wire for generating an interrogating magnetic field. The winding may be either a coil assembly consisting of a plurality of coils spaced at intervals along a common axis or a solenoid. The winding is limited to those having values of D/L less than four where D is the smallest transverse dimension of the winding and L is the length. The winding is adapted to receive a structure within the winding for providing objects a passageway through the winding. The axis of the winding may be either straight or curved. To improve the magnetic field generating capability of the winding, a magnetic shunt encircling the winding can be added. Also included is a structure within the winding for providing objects a passageway through the winding, the structure having openings for object ingress and egress.