Abstract: The present invention is a tunable optic fiber bandpass filter using flexural acoustic waves that includes an optic fiber; a first silica horn; a first acoustic transducer; a first signal generator; a first acoustic absorber; a core blocker; a second acoustic absorber; a second silica horn; a second acoustic transducer; and a second signal generator.

Abstract: The present invention is a device for switching and monitoring batteries for powering a battery-operated device that includes an n-to-1 multiplexer; batteries; a sensor array; a controller; a receiver; a transmitter; and diodes for selectively connecting power for the multiplexer, the sensor array, the controller, the receiver, and the transmitter.

Abstract: The cryptographic system automatically and continuously changes the cipher equivalents representing plaintext characters so as to prevent any periodicity in the relationship. The system has a series of juxtaposed, rotatable, connection changing mechanisms to provide a large number of alternative paths for the passage of an electric current corresponding to a message character. Further, the system has parts for the irregular and permutative displacements of the members of a set of circuit changing mechanisms to thwart cryptanalysis. The juxtaposed cipher commutators are controlled by cam wheels of different diameters.

Abstract: A method of run-length encoding an image containing runs of white pixels and black pixels, by acquiring the image to encode; determining the length of all unique pixel run-lengths contained within the image on a line-by-line basis, irrespective of pixel color; selecting a base of a numeral system, where the base is made up of digits; generating a number of unequal-length codewords equal to the base; determining, in order, pixel run-lengths, on a line-by-line basis, for each pixel run-length contained in the image, where counting on each line starts with a particular pixel color; representing each pixel run-length determined in the last step in the numeral system of the base; determining the frequency of occurrence of each digit resulting from the last step; assigning the unequal-length codewords, according to ascending length of the unequal-length codewords, to the digits according to descending order of frequency of occurrence of the digits; and encoding the image by replacing each pixel run-length in the im

Abstract: The present invention is a programmable antenna that includes a plane and a plurality of programmable arrays on the plane, where the plurality of programmable arrays are connected together in cross-point fashion for programming a user-definable antenna shape therein. The programmable arrays may be programmed before or after being placed on the plane. If the programmable arrays are to be programmed while on the plane then a controller is connected to the programmable arrays to program them. A plurality of planes may be used to realize a three-dimensional programmable antenna.

Abstract: The crytographic system automatically and continuously changes the cipher equivalents representing plaintext characters so as to prevent any periodicity in the relationship. The system has a series of juxtaposed, rotatable, connection changing mechanisms to provide a large number of alternative paths for the passage of an electric current corresponding to a message character. Further, the system has parts for the irregular and permutative displacements of the members of a set of circuit changing mechanisms to thwart cryptanalysis.

Abstract: A method of lattice-quantizing an eight-long data point to minimize storage requirements and computational complexity by acquiring the data point, multiplying each coordinate of the data point by the square root of two to form an inflated data point, rounding each coordinate of the rounded and inflated data point to the nearest integer, reducing modulo-two each coordinate of the rounded and inflated data point to form an initial codeword, multiplying a parity-check matrix of an eight-bit Extending Hamming Code by the result of the last step to form a syndrome, correcting any single-bit errors and double-bit errors, if any, in the initial codeword and the rounded and inflated data point, creating a signal packet if the codeword does not contain any single-bit errors and double-bit errors, and transmitting the signal packet to a receiver.

Abstract: The present invention is an optical switch that includes a first optic fiber waveguide, a second optic fiber waveguide, and a third optical waveguide. The three waveguides are in the same plane. The third optical waveguide may be an optic fiber or a slab waveguide. The first and second optic fiber waveguides are close enough to exhibit evanescent wave coupling under non-interference conditions. The second optic fiber waveguide is between the other two waveguides and closer to the third optical waveguide. The first and second optic fiber waveguides have identical propagation constants. An information-bearing optical signal is applied to the first optic fiber waveguide. An optical control signal applied to the third optical waveguide controls its propagation constant and, therefore, controls whether or not switching occurs between the first and second fiber optic waveguides. The optical switch may be made to be normally on or normally off.

Abstract: A method of displaying on a computer screen a two dimensional representation without any false crossings of a three dimensional interconnection network, where the three dimensional interconnection network consists of vertices defined by a series of perpendicular quadrilaterals; where the vertices of the quadrilaterals are mapped onto a two dimensional hyperbolic plane using geometric functions based on the vertex chosen as a point of origin and where the vertices in the two dimensional display are labelled along with any performance data.

Abstract: A method of thinning a product wafer using equipment designed for a wafer diameter, where the diameter of the product wafer is smaller than the wafer diameter of the thinning equipment by cutting an opening in a template wafer, where the template wafer is of a diameter that may be thinned by the thinning equipment, and where the opening accommodates the product wafer; affixing the template wafer to a holding material; affixing the product wafer to the holding material and inside of the template wafer with the integrated circuit side up; depositing an etch stop onto a handle wafer, where the handle wafer is at least as large as the template wafer; bonding adhesively the product wafer to the etch stop; removing the holding material; filling any gaps between the product wafer and the template wafer; using wax to make the product wafer sufficiently planar; thinning the product wafer using the thinning equipment; removing any excess wax; bonding adhesively the product wafer to a transfer wafer, where the transfer

Abstract: A method of thinning integrated circuits in die form including acquiring a handle wafer; depositing an etch stop material on the handle wafer; coating an adhesive layer onto the etch stop material; acquiring a template wafer; cutting an opening through the template wafer; placing dice onto the adhesive layer of the handle wafer; bonding the template wafer onto the handle wafer; filling any gaps with adhesive material; thinning the resulting structure; acquiring a transfer wafer; coating an adhesive layer onto the transfer wafer; bonding the transfer wafer to the resulting structure; removing the handle wafer; removing the etch stop material; removing any remaining adhesive material; testing electrically the thinned dice; recording which of the thinned dice are functional; dicing the transfer wafer into portions; holding temporarily the portions; removing the transfer wafer from the portions; and packaging the thinned dice.

Abstract: The present invention is a method of identifying the script and orientation of a document image by identifying each set of connected pixels in the document image; computing the number of pixels in each set of connected pixels; computing the horizontal mean position of the pixels; computing the vertical mean position of the pixels; computing the horizontal extent of the pixels; computing the vertical extent of the pixels; computing a plurality of moment values for each set of connected pixels in the document image using a unique normalized centered moment calculation; grouping the moment values according to moment type; sorting the moment values within each moment group according to moment value; selecting moment values from each rank ordered moment group in order to characterize the document image; comparing the selected moment values to moment values for representative document images in a number of scripts and orientations; defining the script and orientation of the document image as being the same as the r

Abstract: A method of identifying the types of data contained in an electronic file of unknown data type by gathering exemplary files of each data type of interest; counting the number of unique n-grams within each exemplary file; determining a weight for each unique n-gram; listing the unique n-grams in the exemplary files of a particular data type by descending magnitude of weight for each data type of interest; selecting the top m weighted n-grams and their associated weights; establishing a threshold for each data type of interest; selecting a length of data from the electronic file; listing every n-gram in the data selected; giving each listed n-gram, that was also selected, the weight that that n-gram was given for each data type of interest; summing the weights given to each n-gram according to data type; comparing the sums to the thresholds established in order to determine the types, if any, of the selected data; recording the location of the selected data if it is of a data type of interest; stopping if the n

Abstract: The present invention is a method of fingerprint verification that includes the steps of capturing a complete fingerprint of a number of enrollees; capturing a portion of a claimant's fingerprint, where the portion is less than an entire fingerprint; dividing the portion of the claimant's fingerprint into a number of segments; comparing each of the segments against the fingerprint of the enrollee the claimant claims to be; generating a correlation score for each of the segments; calculating a distance error for the segments; combining the distance errors into an average distance error; generating a verification vector based on each of the correlation scores for each of the segments and the distance error; establishing a threshold vector; and comparing the verification vector against the threshold vector in order to determine whether or not the claimant is the enrollee the claimant claims to be.

Abstract: A method of automatically generating a topical description of text by receiving the text containing input words; stemming each input word to its root form; assigning a user-definable part-of-speech score to each input word; assigning a language salience score to each input word; assigning an input-word score to each input word; creating a tree structure under each input word, where each tree structure contains the definition of the corresponding input word; assigning a definition-word score to each definition word; collapsing each tree structure to a corresponding tree-word list; assigning a tree-word-list score to each entry in each tree-word list; combining the tree-word lists into a final word list; assigning each word in the final word list a final-word-list score; and choosing the top N scoring words in the final word list as the topic description of the input text.

Abstract: The present invention is a device for adding delay and compensating for dispersion in an optical signal. In a first embodiment, the present invention is made up of a waveguide, preferably an optical fiber, having two or more forward-reflecting gratings for separating an optical signal into user-selected wavelength portions to be propagated in different propagation modes and then recombining them to achieve the desired result. In another embodiment, the present invention is a waveguide, preferably an optical fiber, having three or more gratings where the gratings may be forward-diffracting or backward-reflecting for extending the capability of the first embodiment.

Abstract: The present invention is a wide field of view electro-optic detector and locator of coherent light of unknown wavelength that includes a collecting optic that collimates incoming optical radiation, a common-path electro-optic polarization interferometer placed at an exit pupil plane, an imaging optic, a detector array placed one focal length away from said imaging optic, an image processor that processes the incoming signal in a manner that is independent of the phase of the modulation signal, and an output device. The preferred collecting optic includes a first lens, a field lens, and a collimating lens. The preferred interferometer includes a first polarizer, a liquid crystal variable phase modulator, a fixed phase retarder, and a second polarizer.

Abstract: The present invention is a method of storing, retrieving, and modifying data in a database by creating data records in a user-definable language representation, where each data record has an identifier, where each data record includes data fields and attribute fields, where each data field and attribute field is identified by a name, and where the name does not have to be used by another user; storing each data field and attribute field on a separate line in a data item table along with the data record identifier, the field name or attribute name, and a language representation identifier; retrieving the data record, data field or attribute field in the language representation used to store the same; and modifying, adding, or deleting the data record, the data field, or the attribute field using a user-definable language representation, where the language representation may be different from the language representation used to store the item.

Abstract: The present invention is a method of searching an on-line dictionary in any language representation using syllables and syllable count and an on-line dictionary, where the on-line dictionary includes a primary headword field, a segmented primary headword field, additional unsegmented language representation (headword) fields as required, additional segmented representation (headword) fields as required, a syllable count field, additional syllable count fields as required, and a definition field. The user selects a language representation for a query and makes the query in the selected language representation. The present invention then parses the query to determine if segmented syllables were used in the query and how many, if any. If no segmented syllables were used in the query, a character string search for the headword that matches the query is conducted. If the query contains segmented syllables, a syllable search for headwords that contain the same syllables in the same locations is conducted.

Abstract: A computer process of creating a Moving Electron Beam Exposure System (MEBES) pattern-generation file, that is to be used in the manufacture of integrated-circuit masks, from a technology-independent and semiconductor-process independent layout-design, by transmitting a scaleable and process-independent layout design to a computer, selecting the layers necessary for a particular semiconductor-process, selecting the scale to which the layout design will be converted, converting the layout design to that scale, positioning the layout design in a full-wafer or reticle-based layout, adding scribe lines, converting the layout design to a format acceptable to a conversion program, converting the layout design to a MEBES pattern-generation file, and transmitting the MEBES pattern-generation file in a format acceptable to a manufacturer of integrated-circuit masks.