Abstract: Actual caller identification is provided. Biometric information is collected from a calling party. For example, retinal scan or facial recognition information is collected from a calling party. An element of a communications network receives the biometric information and uses the biometric information to determine the identity of the calling party. For instance, the biometric information is used to generate an index or key into an identity database. The index or key is used to retrieve identity information associated with a record including matching biometric information. The identity information is transmitted, for example, to user equipment of a called party.

Abstract: Enterprises deal with a lot of papers in their day-to-day activities. Many of these papers are company confidential documents and many are legal documents with a statutory requirement that they be preserved for a pre-specified number of years. During the course of time, there is a need to (a) obtain copies of these papers; and (b) modify the contents. Such frequent handling of papers may reduce the life of the papers and lead to statutory violations. A system for automatic indexing and retrieval of paper documents involves (a) storing paper documents in a secured manner in both hard and soft forms; (b) indexing of both forms of the stored paper documents; (c) retrieving soft form of a paper document for display and copying; (d) retrieving hard form of a paper document for modification and removal; (e) managing multiple versions of the paper documents; and (e) access control and audit trailing.

Abstract: An antenna system for sharing of operation employs contiguous transmit frequencies. Transmit frequencies are separated into non-contiguous sub-groups isolated from one another by filters 158(+) and 160(?) associated with positive and negative polarisation. Received frequencies are filtered and split into five signals for input to base station receive ports. Non-contiguous transmit frequency sub-groups are combined by a quadrature hybrid 110 and pass with 90 degree relative phase shift to mutually orthogonal antenna stack ports P(+) and P(?) associated with orthogonally polarised sets of antenna elements AS(+) and AS(?): the ports P(+) and P(?) are isolated from one another by the hybrid 110. The 90 degree phase shift results in one transmit subgroup being radiated with left hand circular polarisation and the other transmit subgroup being radiated with right hand circular polarisation.

Abstract: An energy recovery circuit for a plasma display panel charges a panel capacitor using energy within an inductor and recovers the energy from the panel capacitor. The energy recovery circuit supplies the panel capacitor with a clamping voltage enabling a potential of the panel capacitor to be constantly maintained. A controller controls the energy recovery circuit to supply the clamping voltage to the panel capacitor within a period taken to discharge a current of the inductor from a maximum value to a current level greater than zero. The charging timing point of the panel capacitor occurs prior to the current IL of the inductor L being discharged to zero and/or prior to the panel capacitor Cp being charged up to the sustain potential Vs.

Abstract: Methods and systems for managing a distributed and dynamic review of a set of information are described. A set of information instances (e.g., case summaries) are distributed over a computer system network to reviewer nodes. A list of review items (e.g., problem types) against which the information instances are to be reviewed are also distributed over the computer system network to the reviewer nodes. An updated list of review items is distributed over the computer system network to the reviewer nodes each time a change to the list of review items is received from any of the reviewer nodes.

Abstract: A compact multi-polarized antenna for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals, and a method for constructing same, is disclosed. The antenna comprises at least two radiative antenna elements each having a first end and a second end. The second ends of the antenna elements are electrically connected at an apex point and are disposed outwardly away from the apex point at an acute angle relative to and to a first side of an imaginary plane intersecting the apex point. The antenna also includes an electrically conductive, non-planar ground reference located at and/or to a second side of the imaginary plane.

Abstract: A handheld flashlight includes a head that pivots relative to a body. Three legs pivotally connect to the body and open into a tripod to support the head in an elevated position. The legs are spring-biased toward the open tripod position and are selectively held closed by a detent mechanism. In the closed position, the legs form a flashlight handle that is aligned with an illumination direction of the head and is shaped and sized to be held in the hand of an operator. Each of the three legs contain battery source holders for battery sources that connect to each other in parallel. Diodes are disposed in series with each battery source to prevent the parallel battery sources from discharging each other.

Abstract: A connection member for a flat-panel display is coupled to an electrode terminal part on one side of the panel and an integrated driving circuit on an opposing side of the panel. The connection member provides driving signals to at least one scan electrode and at least one common electrode coupled to the electrode terminal part. The connection member further includes joining parts, each of which has a two-tier structure of scan and common electrode pads. Moreover, the connection member is provided for the scan and common electrodes in the panel on only one side of the panel, thereby saving space and reducing power requirements through use of the integrated driving circuit which provides driving signals for both the scan and common electrodes.

Abstract: Disclosed are a power supplying apparatus, a backlight assembly and an LCD apparatus having the same. A control section outputs a switching signal so as to control an output of a constant current supplied to a lamp unit in response to on and/or off signals and a dimming signal and a switching section controls an output of a direct current voltage source in response to the switching signal. A power outputting section provides an alternating current voltage source having a constant voltage to the lamp unit. A sensing section senses variation of a power supplied to the lamp unit and a detecting section compares a sensing signal with a predetermined reference signal to output a detecting signal to the control section, thereby maintaining the constant current to be supplied to the lamp unit. Accordingly, the LCD apparatus may prevent deterioration of an image and damage of circuit thereof.

Abstract: A method of consolidating genealogy records includes partitioning the records using at least one index file to form one or more partitions, sorting the records in a partition based on a data element in the records, comparing records within a sort range, based on the comparison, identifying same person records, consolidating information in the same person records, receiving a request from a user to view at least a portion of the consolidated information for a particular group of same person records, and sending a file that includes the portion to the user.

Abstract: A retractable stubby antenna is movable relative to a housing along a longitudinal axis. In a retracted position, at least a portion of the retractable stubby antenna is positioned within the housing. In an extended position at least a portion of the retractable stubby antenna is positioned outside of the housing such that a greater portion of the antenna is positioned outside the housing in the extended positioned than in the retracted position. A radiating helical element is connected to device circuitry through a connection interface including an antenna interface and a housing connection interface.

Abstract: A system and method for combining and radiating electromagnetic energy. The invention includes a novel antenna comprising a first dielectric substrate having opposite first and second surfaces, a patch of conducting material disposed on the first surface, a ground plane of conducting material disposed on the second surface, and at least three input ports, each input coupled to the patch at a feed point. The feed points are positioned to minimize the total power reflected from each input port. In an illustrative embodiment, the feed points are equally distributed around a circle having the same center as the patch and having a radius chosen to minimize the reflections at each input. In accordance with the novel method of the present invention, the outputs of multiple sources are combined in the antenna itself, by coupling the sources directly to the antenna.

Abstract: A driver for driving a gas discharge lamp includes an inductive ballast implemented as auto-transformer having a central tap, connected between one output terminal and a first input terminal, and a triac connected between a second output terminal and a second input terminal. The central tap of the ballast is connected, via a capacitor, to the second output terminal. A control unit has a sense input for sensing the phase of an input voltage at the first input terminal, and is adapted to trigger the triac at a predetermined phase (?p) after a zero-crossing of the input voltage, the predetermined phase (?p) being in the range of ??+10° to ??+15°, ?? being the nominal phase lag of the lamp current with respect to the input voltage.

Abstract: A cable antenna assembly (1) connecting with an electronic device via a connector (5) includes a connecting portion (4), a rotating portion (3) rotatably mounted on the connecting portion, and a cable antenna element (9) including a coaxial cable (6) including an inner conductor (62), an inner insulator, an outer conductor (61) and an outer insulator (60), and a grounding sleeve (7) surrounding the coaxial cable and inserted between an inner and an outer rings (30a) and (30b) of the rotating portion. The grounding sleeve defines a fixing hole (71) for connecting with the outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a slot (70) for making the fixing hole elastically expand when the coaxial cable is inserted and then elastically contract for securely fixing the coaxial cable.

Abstract: A digital receiving antenna device is connected to a digital television through a coaxial cable and has a casing, a flat antenna, a coaxial cable connector and a coaxial transmission line. The flat antenna is mounted in the casing and connected electronically to the coaxial cable through the coaxial transmission line. Since the coaxial transmission line has a fixed capacitance without regard to the distance between the feed point and the coaxial cable connector, a fixed capacitor is connected between the flat antenna and the coaxial cable connector. Therefore, the coaxial transmission line can be used as a transmission line for different size flat antennas, and each coaxial transmission line will have the same impedance. These different size digital receiving antenna devices can use the same antenna signal processing circuit and still have an impedance match between the flat antenna and the antenna signal processing circuit.

Abstract: A retractable antenna (100) is provided that includes a body (106) having an orifice (204), a whip (104) retractably coupled to the body (106), at least one follower (200) disposed about the whip (104), and a cam (202) disposed about the orifice (204). The cam (202) is shaped such that the at least one follower (200) interacts with the cam (202) during retraction of the whip (104) so as to rotate the whip as necessary to align the whip in a rotational position that allows full retraction of the antenna. Also provided are an electronic communication device (102) that includes at least one such non-circular retractable antenna (100), and an alignment system for rotationally aligning an extendable portion of a non-circular retractable antenna (100) during retraction.

Abstract: This invention relates to a low-profile lens antenna. In particular, this invention relates to a low-profile lens antenna for use in a depression in a surface, e.g. a concavity in the ground. A low-profile lens antenna is provided that comprises a feed and a lens, wherein the lens is shaped to produce a radiation pattern that shows a general increase in power from 0° to 90° from the central axis of the antenna when illuminated with radiation from the feed.

Abstract: An antenna assembly for mounting on a backstay of a sailboat. An insulative support apparatus includes a slotted center tube that can be forced over the backstay for mounting thereon. First and second outer tubes are attached on opposite sides of the center tube for holding first and second elongated radiators. Proximal ends of the radiators are electrically joined together and to a lead in-wire for connection to a receiver and/or transmitter. Distal ends of the radiators are secured at distal ends of the outer tubes by attachment to eyelets on the bottoms of plugs inserted into the distal ends of the outer tubes, which serve additionally to prevent water from entering the tubes. The outer tubes each include a water drainage channel to allow moisture accumulating to run out a bottom, proximal end of each tube.

Abstract: An omnidirectional resonant antenna in a half-plane or in the whole plane comprises a single radiating electric conductor (26) having at least three abutted wires (28, 30, 32), the length of each wire and the orientation of the wires relative to one another determining the global orientation of the electric conductor. The wires are oriented along at least three different spatial directions and the lengths of the wires are designed to obtain an omnidirectional global radiation of the electric conductor in a half-plane or in the whole plane.

Abstract: In case of driving a plurality of lamps with the use of a plurality of output transformers, a difference in the bright-ness of each lamp occurs by a dispersion of characteristics of the output transformers, and an object is to prevent such troubles. For this purpose, a primary side of a plurality of output transformers of a one input-plural output type are respectively connected, and illumination units are connected to the secondary side of each output transformer. All of the secondary output terminals of each output transformer are connected to the secondary output terminals of counter phase and are connected by forming a loop circuit with the connection of the output terminals in series in closed loom form. The illumination units are connected between the secondary output terminals of the output transformer and the output terminal of the other output transformer of counter phase with the output terminal.