Abstract: A cam-operated pipe puller for pulling and extracting a pipe through a conduit wherein the pipe puller has members for grasping the inner sides of the pipe and apparatus attached to the grasping members for holding the grasping members in a retained position as they are initially inserted into the pipe and for releasing and expanding the grasping members to engage the inner surface of the pipe after the grasping members are fully inserted into the pipe so as to pull and extract the pipe from and through the conduit.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for supporting a rotor in a free state with respect to a stator with superconducting bearings. The apparatus has a rotor with closed rotor loops mounted on the rotor shaft and which are formed of a material having zero electrical resistance at a temperature below a superconductivity transition temperature. A stator encloses the rotor and has closed stator loops formed of the zero electrical resistance material and angularly positioned on the stator about the closed rotor loops. The closed rotor and stator loops are cooled to a temperature below the superconductivity transition temperature of the loop material and energized to create a magnetic flux between the ones of the closed rotor and stator loops. Apparatus for centering and securing the rotor within the stator is released to enable the rotor to move in the free state with respect to the stator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for supporting a rotor in a free state with respect to a stator with superconducting bearings. The apparatus has a rotor with closed rotor loops mounted on the rotor shaft and which are formed of a material having zero electrical resistance at a temperature below a superconductivity transition temperature. A stator encloses the rotor and has closed stator loops formed of the zero electrical resistance material and angularly positioned on the stator about the closed rotor loops. The closed rotor and stator loops are cooled to a temperature below the superconductivity transition temperature of the loop material and energized to create a magnetic flux between the ones of the closed rotor and stator loops. Apparatus for centering and securing the rotor within the stator is released to enable the rotor to move in the free state with respect to the stator.

Abstract: A digital phase detector with a master stage having imbalanced latching devices with intentional input-referred offset for determining which one of a pair of input signals is leading the other and a slave stage connected to the master stage imbalanced latching devices and which slave stage is transparent when ones of the master state imbalanced latching devices are set to a logical one and which is latched and held when the master state latching devices are reset and armed for the next phase measurement.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for supporting a rotor in a free state with respect to a stator with superconducting bearings. The apparatus has a rotor with closed rotor loops mounted on the rotor shaft and which are formed of a material having zero electrical resistance at a temperature below a superconductivity transition temperature. A stator encloses the rotor and has closed stator loops formed of the zero electrical resistance material and angularly positioned on the stator about the closed rotor loops. The closed rotor and stator loops are cooled to a temperature below the superconductivity transition temperature of the loop material and energized to create a magnetic flux between the ones of the closed rotor and stator loops. Apparatus for centering and securing the rotor within the stator is released to enable the rotor to move in the free state with respect to the stator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for supporting a rotor in a free state with respect to a stator with superconducting bearings. The apparatus has a rotor with closed rotor loops mounted on the rotor shaft and which are formed of a material having zero electrical resistance at a temperature below a superconductivity transition temperature. A stator encloses the rotor and has closed stator loops formed of the zero electrical resistance material and angularly positioned on the stator about the closed rotor loops. The closed rotor and stator loops are cooled to a temperature below the superconductivity transition temperature of the loop material and energized to create a magnetic flux between the ones of the closed rotor and stator loops. Apparatus for centering and securing the rotor within the stator is released to enable the rotor to move in the free state with respect to the stator.

Abstract: Apparatus for cradling a candle formed with a base member having a bottom surface for mounting the apparatus on a structure and an upper surface positioned and inclined at an angle with respect to the bottom surface for receiving a base of the candle. A supporting member is mounted on the base member adjacent the lower portion of the upper surface with respect to the bottom surface of the base member and has an outer surface thereof perpendicular to the base member bottom surface and an inner surface positioned perpendicular to the upper surface and configured for receiving and supporting the candle on the base member upper surface with a center axis of the candle positioned at the angle with respect to a vertical line perpendicular to the base member bottom surface.

Abstract: A face mask safety shield structure having a shield support formed of a fire-retardant material with an adjustable head band for adjusting the structure to fit various sizes of user heads. A visor is attached to opposite sides of the shield and enables a user to raise the visor from a frontal horizontal position with respect to the shield support. The structure has a full length lens assembly of a length to fully cover the user's eyes and face and is removably secured to the visor to extend vertically downward from the visor when the visor is in the horizontal position to cover a user's eyes and face. The assembly has a tinted section positioned above a clear section with the tinted section formed to have a length less than the length of the clear section for shielding the eyes of the user. With the visor in the frontal horizontal position the user may look through both the clear and tinted sections and move the visor upward in an arc to swing the lens assembly away from the user's eyes and face.

Abstract: Apparatus for launching a disk-like projectile from a catapult with an aperture formed adjacent one end to receive structure of the catapult to configure the catapult to propel the apparatus forward. A channel in an opposite end is configured to receive the projectile with inner edges formed along internal sides and bottom thereof to engage the projectile. Structure of the apparatus offset from a central rotational axis of the received and engaged projectile holds the projectile in the apparatus during forward movement of the apparatus within the catapult and causes the projectile to rotate as the apparatus reaches the end of it's forward travel and releases the projectile.

Abstract: Apparatus and method of operation for transporting data packets between data systems located in telephone local access transport areas and for implementing enhanced services to control operation of a telephone local access transport area switching network to interconnect calling and called parties in accordance with requested ones of the enhanced services. The apparatus is interconnected with the data systems and switching systems and is responsive to receipt of dam packets from originating data systems requesting transport of data packets to destination data systems and from switching systems requesting an enhanced service for assessing a charge for use of the apparatus by each received data packet.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for operating a speech password system. The system apparatus records and stores a plurality of alphanumeric models. A user password is enrolled by the apparatus recognizing spoken sounds and comparing spoken password enrollment sounds with each of the alphanumeric models. Each user password is stored in the system by recording a pair of clusters identifying five alphanumeric models closest to and farther from the user spoken password enrollment sounds of the password. The system identifies subsequent passwords by recognizing a spoken access password and comparing the sounds thereof with each of the cluster identified alphanumeric models and assigning scores representing the similarity of the password access sounds with the alphanumeric models recorded in the pair of clusters. The spoken password access sounds are identified as a previously enrolled password by summarizing the cluster assigned scores and comparing the summation thereof with a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: Passwords are spoken by users and stored as speech models in a database. The database also contains a plurality of reference voice (RV) speech models based on speech inputs by various persons; each RV speech model includes characters, digits, or phrases comprising user assigned passwords. Preferably, a group of the RV speech models are selected based upon a predetermined level of difference between same and a speech model of the user's spoken password. In requesting access to the system, a user speaks the assigned password. The password entered by the user to obtain access is compared with user's own speech models and with the selected RV speech models to determine a measure of similarity. The validity of the password is determined based upon this measure of similarity.

Abstract: A thin film flexible multi-conductor transmission line having a ground plane deposited on one surface of a flexible thin film insulating member and an array of conductors and pairs of conductors deposited on another surface of the insulating member opposite the ground plane. An electrical shield is positioned above the conductor array to reduce radiation emissions from the conductors into the surrounding environment and to minimize noise sensitivity of the conductors from external emission sources. Insulating material is positioned about sides of and in between the conductors and the shield wherein a ratio of the insulating material height to a height of the conductors is selected at predetermined values and which supports the shield independent of the conductors and insulates each conductor and the conductor array from the shield.

Abstract: A plug-in circuit card assembly for mounting high power electrical and optical components. The apparatus comprises a printed wiring circuit mounting high power electrical and optical components and connectors with conducting paths interconnecting the components and ones of the components with the connectors. The assembly has a structure attached to the printed wiring circuit with a heat sink formed at one end and having a pair of plates extending outward therefrom. One plate mounts a plurality of high thermal conducting pedestals each engaging corresponding ones of the components. Vent tubes are positioned between the plates with each vent tube having one end engaging one of the pedestals and an opposite end engaging the heat sink and functions to conduct heat from the components to the heat sink for dissipation.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for recording data in a speech recognition system and recognizing spoken data corresponding to the recorded data. The apparatus and method responds to entered data by generating a string of phonetic transcriptions from the entered data. The data and generated phonetic transcription string associated therewith is recorded in a vocabulary lexicon of the speech recognition system. The apparatus and method responds to receipt of spoken data by constructing a model of subwords characteristic of the spoken data and compares the constructed subword model with ones of the recorded lexicon vocabulary recorded phonetic transcription strings to recognize the spoken data as the data identified by and associated with a phonetic transcription string matching the constructed subword string.

Abstract: A graphical user interface workstation for use with a manager controller to control and implement changes to telephone sets of customer key telephone systems served by a telephone switching system. The workstation records high resolution graphical representations of each telephone set of a customer key telephone system and enables a customer user to select and display a recorded high resolution graphical representation of each telephone set of the customer user key telephone system. The workstation is interactive with the customer user and enables the customer user to selectively enter telephone lines, features and directory numbers changes into key button locations of a displayed telephone set graphical representation.

Abstract: An assembly for mounting circuit cards having high power electrical and optical alloy MCM chip devices installed thereon. The assembly has a central vertical coolant supply pipe extending from a pump to a heat exchanger unit through a refrigeration unit separated from the heat exchanger unit by circuit board mounting shelves equipped with electrical and optical backplane apparatus interconnecting circuit cards mounted in the mounting shelves. The heat exchanger unit has radiator fins separated by vanes extended outward from a hub of the unit and is interconnected by return pipes extending through the circuit card mounting shelves and terminated in the refrigeration unit which is connected by a return pipe to the pump. Vent pipes connected with the heat exchanger vanes extend from the heat exchanger unit into circuit card mounting shelves in engagement with mounted circuit cards to transfer heat generated by the engaged circuit cards to the heat exchanger unit.

Abstract: Optical spine backplane apparatus for interconnecting circuit cards. The apparatus comprises a central spine structure formed of a bundle of optical fibers extending between circular collars each positioned along the spine and formed around the optical fiber bundle to form a shelf for mounting circuit cards. Each circular collar has an optics pad consisting of optical transmitters and receivers coupled with ones of the optical fibers and with signal leads connected to a first coupling device. A circular collar is constructed of a bundle of electrical conductors formed around the outside of the central spine with each electrical conductor coupled to the first coupling device and to second coupling devices positioned around the outside of the collar. Each of the second coupling devices is connected by signal leads to a socket intended to receive a plug-in circuit card.

Abstract: A personal learning system comprising a base structure with a base member for mounting a pair of training manuals and audio/visual apparatus having prerecorded instructional information for instructing a student in use of training manual course material. The base member has a back portion expandable outward from the base member to support the base member in an easel configuration with the training manuals in an open position for enabling the student to study the training manual course material in accordance with the prerecorded instructional information. A top structure normally encloses the base structure to protect the training manuals and audio/visual apparatus and is opened and positioned against the base member back portion to aid in supporting the base structure in the easel configuration.