Abstract: A paging receiver as part of an analog wristwatch. A received paging message is displayed using an analog watch mechanism which includes hands that are independently controllable. Around the perimeter of the watch face or on the watch bezel are marks representing paging messages, such as "Call Home,", "Call Office", etc. Paging messages are displayed by using one of the hands which normally is used to indicate time to point to one of the marks or messages on the perimeter of the watch. Optional features include using the watch hands not used to point to a mark representing a received paging message to point to a predetermined location to alert the user that a message has been received and using an LED can be used to indicate that a message has been received or that a message is pending. Other analog mechanisms, such as disks, drums, and sliding bars visible through respective apertures in the watch face can be used to display information concerning paging messages.

Abstract: A paging receiver as part of an analog wristwatch. A received paging message is displayed using an analog watch mechanism which includes hands that are independently controllable. Around the perimeter of the watch face or on the watch bezel are marks representing paging messages, such as "Call Home", "Call Office" etc. Paging messages are displayed by using one of the hands which normally is used to indicate time to point to one of the marks or messages on the perimeter of the watch. Optional features include using the watch hands not used to point to a mark representing a received paging message to point to a predetermined location to alert the user that a message has been received and using an LED can be used to indicate that a message has been received or that a message is pending. Other analog mechanisms, such as disks, drums, and sliding bars visible through respective apertures in the watch face can be used to display information concerning paging messages.

Abstract: The present invention provides a display subsystem which includes a frame buffer, a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), a first color look up table and a second color look up table. The first color look up table is located in front of the frame buffer. The second color look up table is located between the frame buffer and the DAC. When the display subsystem receives a command that involves pixels from a Device Independent Bit Map (DIB) file, the translation table provided with the DIB is stored in the first color look up table. This translation table has a number of entries equal to the number of combinations available with the particular DIB format. For example, if the DIB has a one bit color format the first translation table has two entries one for each possible state of the color bits in the DIB. If the DIB uses a four bit color format the first table has sixteen entries, if the DIB uses an eight bit color format the table would have two hundred and fifty six entries, etc.

Abstract: A time keeping and display system, device, and method are shown and illustrated including radio signal broadcast of a time of day reference signal. Remote time keeping devices intermittently collect the time of day reference. Each remote device automatically captures a current state of a time keeping counter when capturing the time of day reference. The captured state of the time keeping counter is later compared to the received time of day reference to calculate an update relative to the time of day counter. The calculated update may be a calculated error later applied as an offset to the counter, or may be a sum of the received time of day and an elapsed time, later loaded into the counter. When the remote device has no pending higher priority tasks, a brief fixed execution time procedure modifies the time keeping counter as a function of the calculated update. Because the process of modifying the time keeping counter is brief, no perceivable discontinuity in device operation, i.e.

Abstract: A dual communication mode system combines a point to point communications device with a television receiver and a video tape recorder. The result is a highly versatile and easily operated personal entertainment and communication center. The point to point communication device included in the personal communication and entertainment center can provide information to: (a) reset the center's time clock automatically if power to the center is interrupted or if the center clock must be synchronized to an accurate time; (b) program the personal entertainment and communication center from a remote location; (c) provide authorization signals to allow the personal entertainment and communication center to descramble coded signals received by the television receiver from a source such as a satellite or cable hookup; and (d) provide personal messages which can be recorded on the video tape recorder and displayed on the television screen.

Abstract: A radio paging network transmits non-paging data, such as facsimile images, to lap top computer receivers by formatting the data into a series of packets and interleaving these packets, on a space available basis, into the paging signal.

Abstract: In a time keeping system providing time of day by radio signal to remote time keeping devices, the transmitted time of day is provided in association with a given time zone identification. The time keeping devices receiving the time of day reference and the time zone identification include a time zone preference identification. By comparing the time zone preference and the time zone identification transmitted, the time keeping device can, when necessary, offset the received time of day value according to user preference for display relative to a preferred time zone.

Abstract: The present invention provides a microprocessor with a special Operation Capture Facility (OCF) mechanism which enables "faulting" whenever there is (a) a memory access request to any one of a specified plurality of blocks of memory (b) a request to access any one of a plurality of specified I-O ports or (c) any one of a specified plurality of interrupts is activated. This OCF mechanism includes a plurality of special registers which store either (a) an I-O port address, (b) a memory address or (c) an interrupt number. Mask registers are provided which (1) mask bits in the special register, thereby providing the ability to fault on an entire block of I-O access requests or upon activation of any one of a block of interrupts and (2) indicate which type of interrupts should be faulted and to indicate whether I-O should be faulted on a byte, word or double word.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for paging message encryption and decryption is shown and described. Paging messages may be encrypted at their source or by the paging system and delivered by radio signal in secure fashion to a paging system for delivery to a remote radio signal receiving paging device. Advantageously, certain paging device hardware and software resources are used to both detect transmission errors and to decrypt paging messages.

Abstract: Digital frequency demodulation is accomplished by monitoring similar transitions in an FM radio signal to determine frequency. Time intervals between similar transitions in the FM signal are established by selecting anticipated transition times and accumulating error values relative to actual transition times. Accumulated error values provide a basis for further selecting anticipated transition times in such manner that a reported sequence of anticipated transition times provides a basis for inferring signal frequency. In one illustrated embodiment, the chosen transition times are positive transitions in the FM signal and the anticipated times of transition are taken from a set of two time periods, an early transition and a late transition relative to a valid transition window. In one embodiment of the invention, accumulated error is stored in an integrator device while in another embodiment accumulated error is stored in the phase of a bi-frequency oscillator.

Abstract: A highly accurate time keeping device and time keeping system are disclosed. Time of day information is periodically sent to a wristwatch via radio signal. The time of day as displayed by the watch is updated periodically using the radio signal data and maintained between such periodic updates according to an algorithm of the present invention. The disclosed time keeping system thereby maintains a plurality of time keeping devices in substantially exact synchronization over an extended period.

Abstract: A portable communication device which also has an infrared transceiver. A portable communication device can automatically establish infrared communication sessions with another portable communication device or desktop computer having an infrared transceiver. The portable communication device and the other device may exchange textual and graphical information, as well as the current time, and then reconcile the newly received information with that information in possession before the communication session began. Multiple portable communication devices and computers may communicate, while conserving battery power, using a time division multiplexing scheme where the infrared transceivers are active during a short, periodic time slots. Multiple communication session may overlap in time as long as they are not active during the same time slot.

Abstract: A framer for a data receiver operates by anticipating particular variable data bits to be sent in a desired group of data, and framing the desired group of data in a received signal by detecting the anticipated data bits in predetermined bit positions therein. The invention is illustrated with reference to a packet-based paging system.

Abstract: An integrated voice messaging/interactive voice response system in which information given by a caller or known to a system database could be transferred among various application modules of the system is provided. The information is passed in the form of parameters in messages sent by one system module to another.

Abstract: The user of a new pager places it into "registration mode" by commands entered through the pager's user interface. In registration mode, the pager displays a previously stored identification code and begins rapidly searching through a list of candidate paging channels. The user then telephones the paging system clearinghouse and provides the identification code. Upon receiving this information, the paging system broadcasts an initialization message addressed to the new pager. Included in the message may be initialization data, such as a list of alternative frequencies on which the paging data may be found. The pager quickly receives this message (due to its rapid searching operation) and stores any initialization data in data registers for future reference. The pager then displays a message to the user confirming the pager's proper operation.

Abstract: An improved method and apparatus for distributing news items to the users of a computerized voice mail system. The news items are stored on disk. A news item memory table is stored in active memory. The news items memory table has (a) message descriptors of a limited number of the latest news items and (b) time stamps showing the newest news item not referenced in said shadow table and the last time a news item not listed in the shadow table was changed. Each time a user interrogates an assigned mailbox, the system checks the news item memory table to determine if any items have been added or deleted since the last time the particular mailbox was interrogated. If there are new bulletins, these are read into the mailbox and if some items already in the mailbox have been obsoleted, the obsoleted items are deleted from the mailbox.

Abstract: A digital filter is designed by characterizing a desired filter passband in the frequency domain, transforming this representation into the time domain, selecting weighting coefficients at periodically spaced intervals from this transformed function, and weighting the coefficients with a Gaussian windowing function. This function may take the form:.sub.e -.vertline.( 2 n-N)/A.vertline..sup.Pwhere:A=N(-ln.epsilon.).sup.-1/P; .epsilon.<1.epsilon.=Window value desired at n= 0 and n=N (reduction ratio);N=(number of F.I.R. taps)- 1; andP=an arbitrary power.

Abstract: The present invention provides a highly reliable network of interconnected voice processing modules. The voice processing modules are interconnected by a high speed FDDI network so that information can be transferred between the modules at high speed. All of the incoming lines for all the interconnected modules are connected in a single hunt group. Each user's profile is stored in two modules and each module includes a directory that shows were each user's profile is stored. When a call arrives at a particular module, the directory is first checked to insure that the desired user does have a mailbox somewhere on the network and to determine where the particular user's profile is located. The user's profile is obtained via the FDDI network from one of the modules where it is located. The profile will show where the associated greeting is stored. The greeting is obtained via the FDDI bus (if it is not on the system which received the call) and the greeting is played.

Abstract: The present invention provides a means for operating the CPU in a single chip microprocessor at a multipe of the cycle speed of the memory bus. With the present invention, first and second timing signals are provided. The frequency of the second timing signal is a multiple of the frequency of the first timing signal. The second or fast timing signal is provided to the CPU and the first or slower timing signal is provided to the memory subsystem. A bus interface unit is interposed between the CPU and the memory bus. This bus interface unit receives the RDY signal (i.e. the ready signal) from the memory subsystem and modifies it before it is provided to the CPU. The "ready" signal from the memory subsystem is in an undefined state for a significant portion of each bus cycle. Since at least two CPU cycles occur during each memory access, the bus interface unit must ensure that the CPU does not misinterpret the ready signal from the memory subsystem. The bus interface unit also must modify the ADS signal (i.e.

Abstract: This is a method and apparatus for interleaving data in a VRAM. A video card is provided which has less VRAMs than the equivalent prior art video cards which have the same speed and same size data paths. Herein is utilized non symmetrical column interleaving whereby each pixel on the display having coordinates X, and Y is mapped into the VRAMS rows and columns R and C according to the formula:R=[TTI of 2(Y/3)]+P1C=LNB{[(TTI of Y mod 3) 341]+[TTI of X/3]}where:TTI means truncation to an integerLNB means lower nine order bits of P1 is "1" if [((X>511) and (Y mod 3=1)) or (Y mod 3=2)]Utilizing the asymmetrical column interleaving of the method and apparatus the rows of each VRAM are completely filled and one can produce a video card for 1024 by 768 display with 8 bits per pixel utilizing three 2 megabit VRAMS.