Abstract: A high altitude launch platform, used to launch a payload into earth orbit, is part of a payload launch system having a payload launching rocket with an engine carried by the high altitude launch platform. A first amount of fuel, substantially less than the capacity of the fuel tanks, is provided to the fuel tanks of the engines for the launch platform while the launch platform is on the ground. The launch platform is flown to a first altitude and the fuel tanks are provided with a second amount of fuel while the high altitude launch platform is at the first altitude. The addition of the second amount of fuel is sufficient to allow the payload to be launched into orbit.

Abstract: A totally D.C. balanced and bit-rate independent digital clock encoding technique is applicable to a variety of digital signalling systems, including fiber optic digital signalling. Each of successive event cells of the clock signal is demarcated by clock transitions of opposite polarity, so that each clock cycle contains two event cells, one of which is redundant. For a first binary data value, such as a `0`, a pair of unmodified successive event cells of the clock signal are provided as an output. Namely, the clock signal is unaffected, so that both halves of a complete, unmodified clock cycle are reproduced `as is` as the encoded clock output. For a second binary data value, such as a `1`, an event cell is modified by inserting a pulse, of finite duration, less than the duration of the event cell, the pulse being delayed with respect to a leading clock transition of the pair of alternating, opposite clock transitions of the event cell.

Abstract: An apparatus for blind signal separation and equalization of PAM signals on a full duplex transmission line is capable of successfully extracting and recovering the respective signalling components of a full-duplex wireline digital data link without having to disturb the link during its use (e.g. as by interrupting service to sever the link in order to install a line coupling device, such as a modem or attenuator pad to signal monitoring equipment) and without having to generate PN or other training sequences. A full-duplex wireline bridge device comprises a signal characteristic monitoring device that is capable of monitoring the link and providing respective output signals representative of the respective unidirectional signal components being transmitted simultaneously in opposite directions along the link.

Abstract: The lower ends of alignment bearing shafts of an upper die member of a tape automated bonding apparatus are modified to include tapered alignment pins, each having a tapered surface that is complementary to the tapered interior end of the bore of a respective bushing on a lower die member. The alignment pin serves to guide its associated alignment shaft and a ball bearing sleeve carried thereby into the bushing. In addition, a first set of rails is installed directly beneath a die member actuator, and a second set of rails is installed on the upper die member. The second set of rails slide upon the first set of rails, so that the upper die member effectively mechanically floats on the first set of rails. The lower die member is affixed to a translatable platen, which is driven to an end stop position at the part excision station. Then, the upper die member is lowered onto the lower die member, so that the alignment pins contact the bores in the bushings on the lower die member.

Abstract: Non-intrusive performance monitoring of a DS0 channel between a customer premises interface and a D4 channel bank includes an augmentation of existing channel bank equipment and a digital services communication device terminating the DS0 link at the customer site. An auxiliary signalling and performance monitoring arrangement is remotely accessible by a non-resident control site, thereby enabling the control site to perform prescribed network supervisory tasks with respect to one or more selected DS0 links. Office channel unit data port and line interface components of the channel bank are modified to provide bidirectional signalling capability via the receive segment of the channel bank's internal communications link.

Abstract: A resource access security system for use in a data processing system for controlling access to resources correspondingly assigned to addresses in an address space of the data processing system by the use of descriptors. The descriptors correspondingly identify the resources and access to the resources is controlled by requiring the input of a descriptor of the resource to which access is sought. The resource access security system controls access to the resources by translating each descriptor being taught to gain access to a resource by use of a plurality of tables having stored therein user/job information, domain information and page information and a descriptor translator which controls the descriptor translation process. The descriptors are virtual addresses of addresses assigned to the resources of the data processing system.

Abstract: A system architecture and communication methodology for significantly reducing the size of an aircraft antenna required to provide full broadcast quality video communications with an aircraft via a satellite communications link includes a combination of video bandwidth compression, spread spectrum waveform processing and an electronically steered, circular aperture phased array antenna, that is conformal with an airframe surface of the aircraft. The combination provides sufficient signal power to the aircraft, enables interference from other satellites to be rejected and maintains the power spectral density of the satellite's video transmission within FCC requirements. The polarization of the receive array is aligned with that of the incoming beam from the relay satellite by means of an error signal feed back path to control the steering weights of the array.

Abstract: An acousto-optic polychromatic light modulating apparatus employs an acousto-optic medium, and a single piezoelectric transducer, which is driven by a plurality of frequency components, the intensities of which are controlled in response to input electronic data, to produce a color-modulated diffracted polychromatic output beam. The acousto-optic medium and mode as well as acousto-optic interaction length and the geometry of the device are selected such that there is negligible acousto-optic interaction with a given frequency signal on all output optical beam colors except for the one assigned to that frequency, with a high degree of color convergence achieved over a wide wavelength range. The present invention can be used to increase the modulation rate of a polychromatic modulator by selecting the incident optical beam energy propagation direction to be nearly normal to the acoustic wave phase propagation direction with non-parallel tangents at the incident and diffracted optical wave-vector loci.

Abstract: A fiber optic telecommunication system has master site linked to a plurality of subscriber interface sites by a single pair of optical fibers. Downlink messages are transmitted in a continuous TDM format over a first optical fiber from the master site to subscriber interface sites, and in a burst mode TDMA format over a second optical fiber from the subscriber interface sites to the master site. Each subscriber interface site is coupled to the optical fiber link by way of a multiple fan-out fiber coupling pedestal at a common location on the fiber pair. To prevent collisions between successive uplink bursts from the subscriber interface sites, a guard band separates successive uplink messages from one another. The guard band duration accommodates optical fiber transmission distance between the common location on the uplink optical fiber and the subscriber interface site whose differential optical fiber transmission distance from the common location is greatest.

Abstract: A high altitude launch platform, used to launch a payload into earth orbit, is part of a payload launch system having a payload launching rocket with an engine carried by the high altitude launch platform. A first amount of fuel, substantially less than the capacity of the fuel tanks, is provided to the fuel tanks of the engines for the launch platform while the launch platform is on the ground. The launch platform is flown to a first altitude and the fuel tanks are provided with a second amount of fuel while the high altitude launch platform is at the first altitude. The addition of the second amount of fuel is sufficient to allow the payload to be launched into orbit.

Abstract: A remote measurement unit for testing and conditioning one or more telephone lines includes multiple electronically erasable flash memory banks, which contain respective versions of the operating system employed by the test unit's micro-controller. An operating system modification routine employed by the host processor of a remote site allows the functionality of the remote test unit to be selectively modified by electronically installing an upgraded or downgraded version of the operating system, or by electronically selectively activating or deactivating one or more operational features of the currently active operating system. A reset routine ensures that the operating system modification mechanism will only boot up the `correct` one of the two quasi-redundant systems available to the RMU's microcontroller after a system modification has been performed.

Abstract: To prevent the occurrence of an anomaly on a single data-sourcing slave channel from causing continuous transmission on that channel and thereby tying up the entirety of a multipoint network, a signal transmission quality monitoring mechanism is incorporated into the office channel unit of each data-sourcing channel. The signal transmission quality monitoring mechanism controls the participation of each monitored digital communications channel on the basis of a measure of the quality of digital signals received from each monitored channel. The control software of each slave channel's office channel unit is configured to include a bipolar violation detector which monitors the channel for the presence of errors exhibited as bipolar violations of alternate mark inversion (AMI)-formatted digital signals. In response to the occurrence of a prescribed number of illegal bipolar violations within a predetermined number of received signals (e.g.

Abstract: The rate of change of a metallic subscriber loop charging characteristic and the period of time elapsed subsequent to the coupling of testing circuitry of a remote test unit coupled to the line are measured. The operation of the testing circuitry within the remote test unit is initiated in response to the rate of change of line voltage reaching a preselected rate of change, prior to the elapsed period of time reaching a prescribed time value. If the measured period of time reaches a prescribed value prior to the monitored rate of change of line voltage reaching the preselected rate of change, the last sampled value of the line voltage is stored and reported to a mechanized loop test system supervisory site.

Abstract: A signal processing circuit measures the phase difference between digitally formated reference tone and telephone line signals over a prescribed number of signal periods so as to provide to an attendant processor an average value of phase differential. The reference tone and line signals are conditioned as square wave signals, and applied to a first exclusive-OR circuit and to respective divide-by-two flip-flop circuits, which produce square wave signals having a frequency which is half the frequency of the conditioned square wave signals. The output of the first exclusive-OR circuit represents the half-cycle phase difference between the two sine waves. The full-cycle square wave signals are applied to a second exclusive-OR circuit, which produces a series of pulses, each representing a respective full-cycle phase difference between the reference and line sine waves.

Abstract: A semiconductor accelerometer is formed by attaching a semiconductor layer to a handle wafer by a thick oxide layer. Accelerometer geometry is patterned in the semiconductor layer, which is then used as a mask to etch out a cavity in the underlying thick oxide. The mask may include one or more apertures, so that a mass region will have corresponding apertures to the underlying oxide layer. The structure resulting from an oxide etch has the intended accelerometer geometry of a large volume mass region supported in cantilever fashion by a plurality of piezo-resistive arm regions to a surrounding, supporting portion of the semiconductor layer. Directly beneath this accelerometer geometry is a flex-accommodating cavity realized by the removal of the underlying oxide layer.

Abstract: Human speech is detected in an audio signal by first providing a single autocorrelated signal indicative of the audio signal multiplied by a time-delayed portion of the audio signal, the delay being an amount of time indicative of a period corresponding to a first formant frequency. Portions of the autocorrelated signal are compared with a scaled noise value. Human speech is detected by examining whether a plurality of portions of the autocorrelated signal exceed the scaled noise value.

Abstract: A process of forming complementary insulated gate field effect transistors includes forming first and second well regions of first and second conductivity types in a planar semiconductor layer so that the well regions have an impurity retrograde impurity distribution profile. An insulator layer is then selectively formed with a first relatively thick insulator portion and thin gate portions. The first and second gates are formed on the relatively thin portions of the insulator layer. Insulator spacers are formed so as to extend laterally from the gates and from the relatively thick insulator portion. First impurities are introduced using the first gate and spacers as a mask to form first source and drain regions. Second impurities of an opposite conductivity type are introduced using the second gate and spacers as a mask to form source and drain regions of a complementary device.

Abstract: A current driver has a short circuit protection circuit which monitors the magnitude of the current driver's output voltage. The protection circuit looks for the failure of the output voltage to either change to a prescribed non short-circuit representative value within a prescribed time window after the onset of a voltage transition at the input node, or to maintain that value as dictated by the input signal. If either of these conditions occurs, the protection circuit takes action to reduce the driver's output current to a relatively small `short circuit` current.

Abstract: An energy-absorbing pad-type device is configured and sized to be inserted within the pants of the wearer adjacent to the wearer's hip and buttocks area, so as to provide an energy-absorbing barrier between the lower extremity of the spine, pelvic girdle, and bottom of the hip bone region, and thereby protect the wearer's hip and buttocks area against injury in the event the person wearing the pad should fall on a hard surface such as a sidewalk or street surface. The protective device comprises a generally flat pad made of elastically deformable multi closed cell polymer material. The pad has a top edge portion, a pair of tapered first and second side edge portions that extend from the top edge portion, and a bottom portion to which the first and second side edge portions extend.

Abstract: A rotary device employs an outer housing having an interior surface with a central axis associated therewith, an outer hub assembly, disposed inside said outer housing, having a central axis associated therewith located at a distance from the central axis of the outer housing, an inner hub, disposed inside the outer hub assembly, having a central axis associated therewith and being substantially coaxial with the outer housing, and a plurality of blades, hingedly connected at one end to the inner hub and radiating through the outer hub assembly, whereby a plurality of relatively airtight compartments are formed between the interior surface of the outer housing, the outer hub assembly, and pairs of blades, with the volume of said compartments varying as a function of the rotative position of the inner hub and outer hub assembly.