Abstract: A bidirectional amplifier apparatus comprising a plurality of diodes located in a ring structure around an amplifier device to be switched. Each pair of diodes are spaced approximately one quarter wavelength, at the frequency to be passed, in order to maximize isolation across the "off" diode pairs. Use of transmission line devices of approximately one quarter wavelength, at a desired frequency, provide a high impedance at the desired frequency while attenuating higher frequencies where the transmission line devices length approach one half wavelength. The use of the transmission line devices also provide a ground bias for the paired diodes.

Abstract: An improved circuit board having a variety of electronic components mounted thereon and having disposed to the autumn side of the circuit board a backing plate having a variety of thicknesses wherein a thicker portion of the backing plate is disposed near portions of the circuit board or components on the circuit board which are of a higher heat generating nature, the circuit board further having a slot extending through the circuit board and inserted in the slot is a metallic shielding cover which contacts the backing plate. Also disclosed is a method for manufacturing the circuit board.

Abstract: A Lofargram Enhancement System having a processor having 1 to i rows and 1 to j columns of processing elements or data cells. Each data cell has a location corresponding to an index, a computational capability and a memory means for storing a a pixel intensity value. The memory cells of all processing elements are addressed concurrently. A FIFO receives and stores a scan line comprising a sequence of pixel intensity signal values. A program provides a means for calculating row and column total values for the total of the pixel intensity signal values stored in a predetrmined relationally related location for each respective processing element for each respective processing element in the systolic processor. An auxiliary processor reads the respective row total and column totals for each processing element in the jth column of the systolic processor and loads the corresponding first column processing element with a corrected pixel value.

Abstract: A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING INTEGRATION TIME ON MULTIPLEXING STARING ARRAYS for selecting all or any portion of each row integration scan for charging integration capacitors from a scanned staring array by providing a row ON selection clock signal, providing a signal corresponding to all or a portion of the time the row is to be connected to the capacitors, and nanding the row ON signal and the corresponding signal to select the time allotted for charging said capacitors.

Abstract: The invention comprises a gallium arsenide driver with float capability for logic high and logic low signals including logic means for receiving an input signal and providing logic high and low signals therefrom. Level shift means responsive to the high and low signals downshift the voltage levels thereof. Common gate means responsive to the downshifted signal voltage levels amplify these signals, and output source-follower means responsive to the amplified signals provide output signals to a pad.

Abstract: An apparatus for providing illumination to flat panel displays having a multi-walled encasement device, lighting means and a flat panel display. The multi-walled encasement device may be of a variety of shapes and serves to support the lighting means within the cavity formed by its walls. The fluorescent bulb is fabricated into a circular design and placed within the multi-walled encasement device thereby providing uniform light intensity across the flat panel display attached to the encasement device. The encasement device may contain convex or concave contouring to better direct or concentrate light wave intensity to the flat panel display.

Abstract: A tri-phase combiner/splitter system that has similar advantages to presently available binary combiner/splitter systems which uses quadrature couplers. Notably, the combiner input Voltage Standing Wave Ratio ("VSWR") remains at 1:1 for identical mismatch impedance at the output ports. There is also a complete cancellation of back-door intermodulation components for identical output device nonlinearities. An innovative wideband, 0.degree. three way combiner/splitter is the basic building block of the present invention. To achieve equal port impedances, a new wideband transmission line transformer is used. By using 60.degree. or 120.degree. phase equalization networks at the three, 0.degree. output ports, this device is converted to a wideband tri-phase combiner.For moderate bandwidths, a coupled transmission line version is possible using meandering strip lines in the same fashion used in quadrature coupler design.

Abstract: An electrical circuit provides a constant phase shift between two output signals derived from a common input. The output signals are designed to provide a constant phase shift at constant amplitude over a very large frequency range. The common input is provided to both a non-shift channel and a phase-shift channel. The non-shift channel comprises a fixed attenuator circuit that provides a non-shifted output signal. The phase shift channel comprises a low-pass RC filter circuit that provides a phase shifted output signal. The two output channels are connected by a transformer phase detector that generates an error signal. The error signal is input to an operational amplifier that provides a phase-shift control signal to the RC filter circuit of the phase-shift channel.

Abstract: Tilters 2, are made of an electrotiltable material comprising an electroshearable material having a unidirectional gradient of responsivity, such as piezoelectric ceramic. Responsive to an activating electrical signal, tilters 2, tilt surfaces 26, with large side strain and negligible side stress. Forcible tilt provides forceful positioning of objects such as rollers, optical elements, and fluids. Tilting combined with a normal force of traction 16, forcefully moves a roller 12. Rollers pass tilting power to objects 14, in tractive contact such as a motor shaft 14. Alternating activation sense and tilting gradient 10 giving zero tilt at support surfaces 7, provide rigidity with negligible stress. Other embodiments use tilt to position optical elements, vary the flow resistance of fluid in a duct, and bunch charged particles. The actuator's tiltable surface 26 has an optical or acoustic element 52 attached for changing the angle at which radiation interacts with the element.

Abstract: A control knob assembly primarily for use with devices utilizing flat panel display technology, each assembly having means for manipulating the electronic apparatus by using remote sensing capability to transfer control knob input into a control signal. The assembly is mounted on a bezel, affixed to the front side of the flat panel display and cooperates in conjunction with a plurality of photodiode devices located near the back side of the flat panel display. Photodiodes are located with respect to knob location so as to be able to detect knob adjustment by monitoring a reflected signal that is alternatively disrupted by knob adjustment. The photodiode devices may be infra-red light emitting diode as are well known in the prior art. Circuitry to the photodiode device is used to transmit detected knob adjustment to the appropriate device control circuitry.

Abstract: An electronic system is provided for stimulating a segmented transducer with resonant electrical signals to produce a nonsinusoidal transducer output. In an illustrative embodiment, the transducer comprises a segmented piezoelectric actuator. The actuator comprises stacked piezoelectric dimorphs forming the actuator segments, each of which reacts electrically as a capacitance. Each segment (capacitance) is connected in a loop in electrical series with an external capacitor or a corresponding segment of a second actuator. An electrical controller stimulates each loop with a separate resonant electrical signal related to the others in frequency, phase, amplitude, and polarity. The resulting output of each actuator is the vector sum of the mechanical outputs of the individual dimorphs of that actuator. In an ideal resonant drive system for a segmented transducer, the only electrical energy used is that which is converted directly to mechanical work by the actuator.

Abstract: An improved TFEL matrix panel drive technique, for improving the brightness output, which utilizes a voltage wave form applied to the row which possesses a first initial peak voltage region, which when combined with a column voltage, exceeds a predetermined threshold voltage for the emission of luminescence, the first initial peak voltage region being relatively short in duration and higher in voltage, with respect to a secondary extended plateau region which when taken in combination with any column voltage is below the predetermined threshold for emission of luminescence. The technique accomplishes its result by allowing for the application of voltage signals to more than one row at a time however only one row is permitted to possess a first initial peak voltage region at any one given time.

Abstract: A dilution cooled lithium reactor for producing hot hydrogen which in turn drives a power-generating device such as a turbine is disclosed. Within the reactor are injected heat-generating reactants such as liquid lithium and liquid oxygen. The reactants combine to heat hydrogen which in turn is filtered and delivered to a power-generating device such as a turbine.

Abstract: An alarm for detecting transient senic events determines an estimate of background environmental acoustic events or noise by computing a short time correlation function for individual segments of data and then subtracting an estimated mean of the correlation function. Acoustical events which represent major excursions from the measured background are detected as transient events. The background is continuously updated within selected processing periods chosen to maintain an accurate differentiation for transient events. In further aspects, the residual correlation function is generally detected using a .chi..sup.2 statistic which is computed using an estimated covariance of the correlation function and the residual correlation function for a specific window. If a given residual does not represent a detected transient event, that residual is used to estimate the mean and covariance of the background using an exponential integrator.

Abstract: A variable pressure passive regenerative fuel cell system is provided wherein both the fuel cell and electrolyzer are designed to operate under variable pressure conditions.

Abstract: A SOUND RECOGNITION PROCESS comprises training a sound recognition system to a shape Hidden Markov Model (HMM) from a shape codebook of shape codewords, and to a separate gain HMM from a gain codebook of gain codewords. An unknown token is assigned to the sound category associated with the shape HMM and gain HMM with the greatest probability product. Shape and gain codewords replacements for incoming Linear Predictive Coded (LPC) vectors are selected by choosing the codeword with minimum distortion between the codeword and a combination of the vector and some of the preceding codewords, exponentially weighted by time.

Abstract: Improved backlighting of liquid crystal and other flat panel displays is accomplished by lighting the back of the LCD using lamps located at the ends of the LCD. The LCD is mounted over a channelized frame, and a light transmissive window covers each end of the channel, the combination forming a sealed LCD unit. The LCD unit is mounted in a panel which has reflectively-coated recesses on each side of the LCD unit containing incandescent lamps and opening in registry with the windows in the LCD. The windows are constructed of two back-to-back sheets of prism film whose function is to reject light impinging at greater than the critical angle of the film. The light from the lamps is thereby better distributed along the full width of the LCD, which eliminates bright and dark spots on the LCD. The LCD channel is provided with a centrally-located, raised luminaire to further diffuse light from the lamps in the center of the LCD.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for performing finite impulse response (FIR) type filtering of 2N points of real-only input data using fewer multiplication elements than traditionally required. A filter multiplexer segregates or divides the input data into even and odd data values which are transferred to the "real" and "imaginary" inputs of a fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) or DFT element which selectively performs N-point transformations according to a preselected FFT algorithm. The transformed data output by the FFT transformer is divided into even and odd transformed, frequency domain, data. The even and odd transformed data is transferred to a multiplier where it is multiplied by a preselected weighting matrix of coefficients and the DFT of the desired filter response. The resulting data is divided into even and odd transformed data functions which are recombined to provide the transform of the multiplier input data function.

Abstract: A multiplicity of heaters 50 on the surface 10 of a hollow torus chamber 4 are employed to exobarically stimulate the fluid contained in the chamber to make a resonant traveling wave 20 which has its high pressure peaks 22 adjacent outlet ports 16 and its negative pressure peaks 26 adjacent inlet ports 12, thus pumping the fluid. The traveling wave can be composed of two waves having a phase difference. A controller 62 directs the heaters to exobarically stimulate the fluid so as to create the traveling wave in the fluid. Heaters 50 can act as anemometers to detect the position of the waves in the chamber so that the controller may determine when to add pulses to the wave. By having a traveling wave which always has a high pressure peaks 22 adjacent to outlet ports 16 and its negative pressure peaks 26 adjacent inlet ports 16, no valves are required to make the pump function, thus eliminating any moving parts in the pump.

Abstract: This invention relates to an actuator which changes its length without changing its width or breadth dimensions. Four shear electrodeformable bodies 4 are placed symmetrically on two faces of a central electrode 6. Each body also has a connecting electrode 8, attached to the electrodeformable body, thus forming a tetramorph which is the basic building block of the actuator. Each connecting electrode allows the tetramorphs to be attached to each other in layers and stacks to the desired dimensions of the actuator. Two of the electrodeformable bodies in the top half of the tetramorph are polarized to shear in one direction and the two electrodeformable bodies in the bottom half are polarized to shear in the opposite direction. If the shear in the electrodeformable bodies is up and down the tetramorph acts as a lifter. If the shear in the electrodeformable bodies is sideways the tetramorph is a tangenter or axier.