Abstract: A dial indicator for accurately measuring displacement of a part along a measurement axis. The dial indicator includes scale electrodes of a given pitch and reader stationary scale electrodes of a given pitch. A reader carries a plurality of reader bars having a pitch of one half that of the scale electrodes. A set of drive signals of a given frequency are applied in different ways to the scale bar electrodes to achieve coarse and fine positions of the reader relative to the scale. One operating mode involves determining the position of the reader 34 with a coarse measurement relative to the scale, and a fine measurement. These signals can combined to obtain an accurate position over the reader and position of a spindle reading displaced.

Abstract: A dial indicator for accurately measuring displacement of a part along a measurement axis. The dial indicator includes scale electrodes of a given pitch and reader stationary scale electrodes of a given pitch. A reader carries a plurality of reader bars having a pitch of one half that of the scale electrodes. A set of drive signals of a given frequency are applied in different ways to the scale bar electrodes to achieve coarse and fine positions of the reader relative to the scale. One operating mode involves determining the position of the reader 34 with a coarse measurement relative to the scale, and a fine measurement. These signals can combined to obtain an accurate position over the reader and position of a spindle reading displaced.

Abstract: A radiation detection apparatus for use in noisy environments in which radiation detection and external noise generate interaction event pulses. A first interaction pulse initiates a following time interval during which the effect of received interaction event pulses is minimized. For example, the interaction event pulses produced by noise are not counted if they occur during the time interval.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method is provided for enhancing a digital image comprised of pixels by adaptively sharpening the pixels and clipping the numerical values of the sharpened edge pixels so as to fall between the smallest unsharpened numerical value and the greatest unsharpened numerical value, respectively, of the pixels located within a neighborhood of the pixels. Pixels which are located on an edge are sharpened in the direction perpendicular to the edge. The threshold value used to ascertain the presence of an edge and sharpening parameter used to control the degree of sharpening can be adaptively controlled by the zoom ratio. The apparatus of the invention is particularly suited for an electronic set-top video camera.

Abstract: Sensor circuits for the measurement of small variations in the value of a sensing capacitor. An alternating voltage excites the sensing capacitor a predetermined frequency whereby the voltage on the sensing capacitor reverses polarity. This voltage on the sensing capacitor is sampled each time the voltage reverses polarity. An accumulator accumulates the sampled charges from the sensing capacitor. An output signal that represents the charge in the charge accumulating means indicates the measured capacitance.

Abstract: An adaptive electronic zoom system is described which includes an electronic camera having an image sensor with pixels, a controller communicating with an address generator to select in response to an external input or feedback signals from the electronic camera a subset of pixels from the pixels of the image sensor, the subset of pixels defining a zoom area. The zoom area can be located at any position within the image sensor area. The zoom ratio/pan/tilt of the zoom area is automatically adjusted so as to maintain the location of the zoom area entirely within the image sensor area. The adaptive electronic zoom system is particularly suited for set-top boxes for video conferencing applications.

Abstract: This invention describes the deficiencies of current art for sensitive impedance sensors, particularly capacitive sensors, and describes several circuits that improve measurement of small value capacitances, especially in the presence of noise. It also shows various circuit architectures optimized for different capacitive sensing tasks.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method is provided for enhancing a digital image comprised of pixels by adaptively sharpening the pixels and clipping the numerical values of the sharpened edge pixels so as to fall between the smallest unsharpened numerical value and the greatest unsharpened numerical value, respectively, of the pixels located within a neighborhood of the pixels. Pixels which are located on an edge are sharpened in the direction perpendicular to the edge. The threshold value used to ascertain the presence of an edge and sharpening parameter used to control the degree of sharpening can be adaptively controlled by the zoom ratio. The apparatus of the invention is particularly suited for an electronic set-top video camera.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method is provided for enhancing a digital image comprised of pixels by adaptively sharpening the pixels and clipping the numerical values of the sharpened edge pixels so as to fall between the smallest unsharpened numerical value and the greatest unsharpened numerical value, respectively, of the pixels located within a neighborhood of the pixels. Pixels which are located on an edge are sharpened in the direction perpendicular to the edge. The threshold value used to ascertain the presence of an edge and sharpening parameter used to control the degree of sharpening can be adaptively controlled by the zoom ratio. The apparatus of the invention is particularly suited for an electronic set-top video camera.

Abstract: A camera positioning system for rotating a video camera about a rotation axis. The system includes a camera platform to which the camera is rotatably attached; a motor mounted to a base for driving the camera platform to effect rotation of the platform about the axis and relative to the base; a drive for coupling the motor to the camera platform; an electrically driven capacitive sensor assembly for generating electrical position signals for determining a rotational position of the camera platform relative to the base; and a feedback control circuit for using the position signals from the capacitive sensor assembly to control rotational positioning of the motor, resulting in rotating the camera to a desired camera position. The capacitive sensor has a conductive guard plate which helps immunize the capacitive sensor assembly from noise and from ground potentials. The rotation axis can be horizontal or vertical with the camera rotated to effect pan or tilt respectively.

Abstract: The invention features a video camera system where horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals and a pixel clock signal are generated and added to analog video signals from a video imaging device within an electronic camera head that is connected, via an electrical cable, to a remote host processor having digital signal processing circuitry for processing the video signals. The analog video signals generated by the video imaging device received by the host processor, over the electrical cable, are converted to digital video signals at the remote host, and are then processed by the digital signal processing circuitry.

Abstract: An optical assembly and electronic reader circuit cooperate to provide a highly-efficient and low-cost electro-optic barcode reader. The optical assembly includes a shielded housing, a photo detector and optical elements disposed about an un-folded optical path that provide a virtual reading window at one end of the housing whose field of view, which is focused to a point at the photo detector, is shaped to be no wider than constitutive barcode indicia. The electronic reader circuit includes a pulse amplifier and manual-adjustment-free average D.C. offset negative feedback and A.C. information peak detect negative feedback loops that respectively maintain the electrical pulse stream input to the pulse amplifier within the dynamic range thereof and eliminate electrical pulse stream peak noise. A circuit is coupled to a comparator with hysteresis square-up stage to deactivate the comparator in the state of no input signal.

Abstract: An optical assembly and electronic reader circuit cooperate to provide a highly-efficient and low-cost electro-optic barcode reader. The optical assembly includes a shielded housing, a photo detector and optical elements disposed about an un-folded optical path that provide a virtual reading window at one end of the housing whose field of view, which is focused to a point at the photo detector, is shaped to be no wider than constitutive barcode indicia. The electronic reader circuit includes a pulse amplifier and manual-adjustment-free average D.C. offset negative feedback and A.C. information peak detect negative feedback loops that respectively maintain the electrical pulse stream input to the pulse amplifier within the dynamic range thereof and eliminate electrical pulse stream peak noise. A circuit is coupled to a comparator with hysteresis square-up stage to deactivate the comparator in the state of no input signal.

Abstract: A scale and slider in a linear displacement measuring instrument have spaced opposed parallel surfaces bearing aligned patterns of thin flat conductive elements. The scale pattern consists of equally spaced parallel bars transverse to displacement with enlarged aligned central portions which form collectively a single set of coupling electrodes. A pair of aligned sensor electrodes are fixed on the surface of the slider opposite the coupling electrodes of the scale and matching arrays of transmitter elements are arranged on opposite sides of the sensor electrodes and grouped axially in space quadrature. Alternate interdigitated sets of the transmitter electrodes on the slider are excited with oppositely phased square wave signals. The signals picked up by the sensor electrodes on the slider are fed to separate coarse plate counting and fine plate interpolation circuits.

Abstract: This disclosure is concerned with time-clock recording and computation that, through a novel clock track card and separate clock track and data channel optical reading, in cooperation with microprocessor calculation, storage and control, enables automating employee time and attendance and similar data in a format directly recordable on the card and also directly useable by payroll or other processing computers and the like.

Abstract: A video switching system particularly adapted for use in a small studio environment includes a group of independent selection switches that enables a user to select any one of a plurality of different input video signals and route that signal to a preview output for display on a preview monitor. When it is desired to switch the previewed signal to a program output for actual broadcasting, the user activates a take switch. The system, however, does not abruptly switch the previewed signal to the program output, but rather automatically generates a mixture of the previewed signal and old program signal and automatically adjusts the mixture so that the old program signal is uniformly faded out and the previewed signal is uniformly faded into the program scene. The effect of the transition to the previewed signal is thereby automatically softened.

Abstract: A facsimile system comprising transmitting means for scanning a document and encoding the scanned data into run lengths and subsequent Huffman codes and transmitting the scanned data; and receiver means for receiving the transmitted encoded data, decoding same into the original data format and recording such data, the receiving means including decoder means having a read only memory for receiving serial data from the transmitter means to partially address the read only memory with the incoming data bit and a memory buffer register for supplying the read only memory with a vectored address from the read only memory to complete the address of the read only memory, the vectored address having been supplied to the memory buffer register from the read only memory when the previous data bit was received, the vectored address comprising the decoded loop.

Abstract: A video surveillance system having a plurality of video cameras and means for reproducing the scenes viewed by a selected by one of the cameras. A switch selectively connects the cameras to the reproducing means. A counter generates a sequence of signals wherein each signal corresponds to one of the cameras. The counter signals are applied to the switch to select the corresponding camera and apply its output to the reproducing means. The counter signals are also applied to a character generator which generates characters identifying the selected camera for display at a selected location in the reproduced scene.