Abstract: Methods and devices are provided for detecting or preventing unauthorized upgrades to a customer's quality of service in an access data network. Several aspects of the invention require customer nodes to properly perform an initialization procedure. For example, the initialization procedure may involve making a request to a server controlled by, or at least trusted by, the service provider. The initialization procedure may involve downloading a configuration file, such as a DOCSIS configuration file, from the trusted server. According to some such aspects of the invention, nodes that cannot properly perform the initialization procedure are prevented from coming online. According to other such aspects of the invention, nodes that cannot properly perform the initialization procedure are marked. A warning may be sent to marked nodes. A customer associated with a marked node may be charged a higher rate for service.

Abstract: An optimal sampling pattern for variable density sampling of a continuous signal uses a statistical knowledge of the signal to determine an autocorrelation matrix from which a basis set is identified. Sampling is performed at locations determined from an eigenvector matrix, and the sampled output provides coefficients for the basis set. The reconstructed signal output is a summation of the multiplication of the coefficients and the basis set.

Abstract: A weaving apparatus used to separate the tubes of a heat exchanger so that spacers that hold the tubes apart can be inserted between the tubes to increase thermal efficiency. The weaving apparatus includes a frame assembly and a weaving mechanism contained within the frame assembly. The weaving mechanism includes an alignment plate to align the tubes and separation plates to separate the tubes after they have been aligned. The weaving apparatus thus automates the step of separating the tubes of the heat exchanger so that the spacer can ready inserted between the tubes.

Abstract: Methods and systems for detecting counterfeit cashless instruments are disclosed. A pattern of attempted redemptions or other transactional recordings of gaming machine printed tickets, vouchers or other cashless instruments having identification numbers with valid predictable fields but invalid unpredictable fields can indicate a likely counterfeiting attempt or operation. Occurrences can include a thief or other unscrupulous party discovering which gaming machine printed ticket fields lend themselves to prediction and which do not, and then attempting to guess at some of the randomly generated numbers in hopes of coming up with a valid number or number set. In addition, stored hash numbers can be compared to a hash number generated according to a one-way hash function. A pattern of invalid hash numbers can also indicate a likely counterfeit attempt.

Abstract: Systems and methods for conducting cashless gaming or player tracking within a gaming environment are disclosed. Players with associated player accounts are provided player tracking instruments having rewriteable displays. Also provided are gaming devices or machines having display panels adapted to display content and scan input through set display and read regions. Data on player tracking instruments is updated and displayed thereupon, and the input display panels of the gaming devices are used to read this data. These input display panels can also be used to read biometric information from players to confirm proper player account associations. The player tracking instruments may contain an RFID tag to receive communications from a transceiver associated with the gaming device or machine. A feedback loop from a master gaming controller to a transceiver to a player tracking instrument to an input display panel and back to the master gaming controller can be created.

Abstract: A fracturable logic element includes a first, second, third, and fourth two-input lookup tables (2-LUTs). Each 2-LUT includes four memory elements. Each memory element is configured to hold one data bit. The fracturable logic element also includes a set of six inputs and a control circuit configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode. When the control circuit operates in the first mode, a first combinatorial output is generated using four of the set of six inputs and the first, second, third, and fourth 2-LUTs. When the control circuit operates in the second mode, a second combinatorial output is generated using a first subset of three of the set of six inputs and the first and second 2-LUTs. Additionally, when the control circuit operates in the second mode, a third combinatorial output is generated using a second subset of three of the set of six inputs and the third and fourth 2-LUTs, the first and second subsets being non-intersecting subsets of the set of six inputs.

Abstract: A touch system includes a touch panel having a touch surface and a projector presenting images onto the touch surface. A computer executing an applications program is coupled to the touch panel and the projector. The computer is responsive to contact output generated by the touch panel in response to proximity of a pointer to the touch surface and updates image data conveyed to the projector so that images presented on the touch surface reflect pointer activity. The computer executes a gesture connector recognition routine. The gesture connector recognition routine performs recognition to convert a freehand connector on the touch surface into a computer-generated connector approximating the freehand connector.

Abstract: The present invention provides a heat transfer assembly that, when coupled to an object, is capable of keeping the object at a uniform elevated temperature while removing large amounts of heat from an external source. The assembly may be contained in a pedestal for use in a UV-cure chamber. The heat transfer assembly includes a heating element to control the wafer temperature and a cooling element to remove incident IR heat from the wafer and pedestal. A heat resistant layer having a calibrated heat resistance is located between the heating and cooling elements and between the wafer and the cooling elements. The heat resistant layer is able to sustain high temperature gradient from the wafer to the coolant so that the coolant does not boil while permitting enough heat to be conducted away from the wafer to maintain the desired set-point temperature.

Abstract: An equalizer for a loudspeaker telephone includes a signal generator for generating a reference signal for broadcast by a loudspeaker of the loudspeaker telephone. A filter alters the frequency response of signals prior to broadcast by the loudspeaker. During set-up, a processor processes the reference signal picked up by a microphone remote from the loudspeaker that has been convolved with the acoustical response of the environment to determine coefficients for the filter that are necessary to compensate for the environment acoustics and applies the coefficients to the filter.

Abstract: Method and devices are provided for allocating network resources in a flexible manner. In some implementations, a customer's unused resources for a particular type of service are assigned to another type of service. In other implementations, a first customer's unused resources are assigned to a second customer, e.g., in exchange for a relatively lower service charge to the first customer. The unused bandwidth may be assigned on a hierarchical or a non-hierarchical basis. In preferred embodiments, resources are allocated using a token bucket methodology. Preferably, high-priority resources are not compromised by the allocation scheme. The discipline or manner in which resources or bandwidth are shared may be specified in a static fashion or information regarding the state of congestion in the network maybe used to generate a dynamic (time varying) specification.

Abstract: According to the present invention, methods and apparatus are provided to improve the techniques and mechanisms for forwarding packets at a fiber channel switch. A combined area table/domain table (ATDT) is accessed using destination information associated with a fiber channel packet. Area/port or domain information can be used to address entries in the ATDT. Each entry provides one or more paths to a given destination. Traffic shaping, load balancing, and other policy based forwarding considerations can be applied.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel based display, a method of dynamically selecting either frame rate conversion (FRC) or pixel voltage overdrive is disclosed. The method is carried out by performing the following operations. A video vertical refresh rate of an incoming video data stream is determined and based upon the determining, only one video data stream conditioning protocol from a number of available video data stream conditioning protocols is selected. The selected video data stream condition protocol is then applied to the video data stream.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for controlling congestion in a network such as a fiber channel network. Techniques are provided for detecting congestion at a shared resource such as a network node. When a controller sends data to a shared resource, the delay between sending the data and receiving a credit is measured. If the delay is significant, it is assumed that the path towards the destination associated with the data is congested and subsequent traffic from the port associated with the data is blocked.

Abstract: Methods of preparing a carbon doped oxide (CDO) layer with a low dielectric constant (<3) and low residual stress without sacrificing important integration properties such as dry etch rate, film stability during wet cleaning, electrical leakage current, and extinction coefficient are provided. The methods involve, for instance, providing a substrate to a deposition chamber and exposing it to a chemical precursor having molecules with at least one carbon-carbon triple bond, followed by igniting and maintaining a plasma in a deposition chamber using radio frequency power having high and low frequency components or one frequency component only, and depositing the carbon doped oxide film under conditions in which the resulting dielectric layer has a compressive stress or a tensile stress of between about ?20 to 30 MPa and a dielectric constant of between about 2.5-3.0, a C?C to SiO bond ratio of between about 0.05% to 5%, a SiC to SiO bond ratio of between about 2% to 10%, and a refractive index (RI) of 1.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided to allow reliable data transport in a packet-based network. A network node encodes error correction packets associated with data packets at a network-layer and forwards the error correction packets with the data packets. The error correction packets are decoded as needed to recover data packets lost or dropped during transmission. The mechanisms are applicable for unicast and multicast networks and function even with network topology changes.

Abstract: According to various aspects of the present invention, a technique is described for improving load balancing of traffic in a data network using source-side related information embedded into the destination IP address field of packets received at a load balancing device. One aspect of the present invention relates to assigning more than one virtual IP address to a server cluster in order to enable different clients to select a virtual cluster address which corresponds to each clients' respective rights and/or profiles, and to use the selected virtual cluster address to access a desired site or service. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a mechanism which allows for load balancing operations to be implemented using source-side information which is embedded into the destination IP address of a packet header. In this way, load balancing decisions may be quickly performed at initial or early stages of a connection flow.

Abstract: A player configurable video gaming machine in which a player may select one or more configuration inputs to play a previously configured default game or to create a new game configuration. Additionally, each game configuration may be saved to be implemented in various gaming machines.

Abstract: Methods and devices are provided for identifying, locating and provisioning individual RFID devices in a network with “personalities” that are appropriate for the roles of the RFID devices. According to some implementations of the invention, a combination of EPC code information and existing networking standards form the basis of identifying and provisioning methods. For example, MAC address information and EPC information can be combined to identify a particular device and its location in a network. For implementations using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”), DHCP Options may be used to pass provisioning information. Some implementations employ Domain Name Service (“DNS”) and dynamic DNS (“DDNS”) to allow easy identification of RFID devices.

Abstract: An interlaced television signal is derived from an interlaced 625 line, nominally 50 Hz field rate television signal, the derived television signal having perceived reduced line structure and reduce flicker. The field rate and the number of lines of the derived television signal are increased with respect to the field rate and the number of lines of the original television signal, such that perceived flicker and line structure in the derived television signal is reduced. The increase in the field rate and the increase in the number of lines in the derived television signal results in a horizontal scanning rate that does not substantially exceed twice the horizontal scanning rate of the original television signal while minimizing undesirable motion artifacts.