Abstract: A rule based system and method interacts with a user to provide the user a series of interim results. The system has a set of one or more operations. Each of these operations in turn has a set of one or more choices, called a choice set, associated with an operation. Rule based intelligence is applied to the operations set and/or one or more operation choice set by a set of rules associated with its respective operation and/or choice set. When one or more rules in a rule set are applied to the operation set, an offered operation set is created which is a subset of the operation set. Only the operations in the offered operation set are offered to the user. When one or more rules in a rule set are applied to a choice set, an offered choice set is created which is a subset of the choice set. Only those operation choices in the offered choice set are offered to the user.

Abstract: An RF tag has an enable/disable circuit connected to a critical part of an electronic object/circuit, e.g. a computer mother board. The critical part of the circuit is any circuit component and/or connection that can enable and/or disable the electric circuit operation. Signals are sent to the tag to change data in the tag memory which causes the enable/disable tag circuit to control the critical part to enable and disable the electric circuit. A system checks the status of the tag, e.g. the electronic circuit was paid for, before enabling the electronic circuit.

Abstract: A query comprising of sub queries, each of which could be of different media types are used to search a collection of multimedia documents in a database. These sub queries are parsed according to media type and operators/functions between these sub queries are recorded creating a set of query objects and query operator objects. The query interface than passes the query objects to the appropriate application programming interfaces (API's) of the various search engines. Furthermore, it applies the query object operators to the respective interim results obtained by executing a query object. Then the interim results are combined in a global result object that is processed using a user specification to produce a single combined result list that conforms to user specified requirements.

Abstract: A system and method for browsing dynamic video information over a network includes selecting a small subset of frames from video shots and collections, using a threshold difference between two compared frames, to capture the dynamic content. Further selection and interleaving the selected frames within the shots and collections can be done to satisfy resource constraints like utilization of bandwidth. Interleaving is performed in storage and transmission of the frames to improve presentation of video information and to simultaneously display selected frames on a computer display to convey the dynamic of video. The system and method permit a dynamic summary of video information to be sent to a user over a network, while reducing resources (bandwidth) used by the network for the amount of information presented to the user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus settles the ambiguity of the meaning of a word having a plurality of meanings in a first language to make source sentences in the first language correspond in the most appropriate way to translated sentences in a second language. Source sentences in the first language to be translated are entered to an input unit. Through the input unit source sentences are entered to a polysemous word settlement unit via an entered sentences analyzing unit. A characteristics table generation part stores a characteristics table in which each meaning is preliminarily associated with each characteristic with respect to polysemous words. A characteristics record generation part generates a characteristics record to compare the characteristics table and the characteristics record, thereby selecting and outputting the meaning of the polysemous word based on the characteristics in the source sentences.

Abstract: An authoring system and method create a knowledge base for an expert system that comprises communication cells for storing external data, assertion cells for storing data acquired from a user in the course of a user dialog, and interaction cells that specify (multimedia) interactions with the user, which are carried out as the cells are invoked by the run-time program. Each interaction cell has an enabling condition that must be satisfied before it can be invoked. At authoring time, the knowledge base is constructed by an expert system author who allocates the knowledge base cells on a rectangular grid similar to a spreadsheet. The author can try out various what-if scenarios by setting the values of assertion and communication cells and recalculating the knowledge base or simulating the created expert system. The grid is only an authoring tool, which is not visible or present at run time.

Abstract: Descriptive canonical forms of entity types are created by scanning one or more documents in a database of a computer system to identify one or more proper names that appear in the documents as raw names. Each of the raw names has zero or more proper names, zero or more medial substrings, zero or more leading substrings, and zero or more trailing substrings. The raw names of one or more documents are "cleaned" and "split" until certain "cleaning and splitting conditions" are no longer met to obtain a list of clean and split candidate names. Anchor names are selected from the list that unambiguously represent an entity type. The anchor names have one or more entity-type attribute values. Variant names, clean and split candidate names having one or more shared attribute (values) with the anchor name, are combined with the anchor name to create an equivalence group of names that refer to the same entity. A canonical form is generated for the group from a subset of the anchor name attributes.

Abstract: Object-oriented system methods are automatically instrumented with method hooks that are capable of generating graphical information that can be visualized on a graphical interface. When a method hook is run, it can indicate the occurrence of: an object instance being created, and object instance being destroyed, an method being entered or a method being exited. In the event of one of these occurrences, the method hooks initiate execution of a monitoring function that uses the graphical information and a visualization script with rules to update a visualization shown on the graphical interface. The update will conform with the current state of the object instances visualized. The rules can be changed, to modify the visualization, without recompiling or relinking the application programs. Constraints also can be used by the monitoring function to modify the visualization.

Abstract: Manufacturing of a novel thin and flexible radio frequency (RF) tag with a stamped metal leadframe antenna is disclosed. The tag is made by transporting a leadframe strip having leadframe antenna "cutouts" to a point where a chip is mechanically and electrically attached directly to the leadframe antenna. A battery can be attached to the chip in the process. Processes to cut support bars holding the leadframe antenna to the leadframe strip, seal the package (by lamination or molding), and to excise the sealed component are performed in various orders to produce a final product. Intermediate support (positioners) for the thin leadframe are optionally provided add structural support to the antenna while the sealed component is made. A protective surround can be added to cover the package and to provide further structural support for the package while still permitting the sealed component to be thin and flexible.

Abstract: A master entity is capable of broadcasting commands to a plurality of three-state-selection machine slaves. Transitions from one state to another are effected on instruction from commands in a sequence of commands broadcast from the master. Slaves move to another state when they satisfy a primitive condition specified in the command. By moving slaves among the three sets, a desired subset of slaves can be isolated in one of the sets. This desired subset of slaves then can be moved to one of the states that is unaffected by commands that cause the selection of other desirable subsets of slaves.

Abstract: A computer system stores and transmits compressed simple triangular meshes. The computer uses a data structure that represents a simple triangular mesh in n-dimensional space. The data structure has a table of vertex runs, a table of triangle runs, zero or more marching records, which provide the connectivity information of the triangular mesh. The data structure also has zero or more associated data records that include the geometric information of the triangular mesh. The table of triangle runs and the marching record have information that describes how to construct a triangular mesh (therefore, the polygon vertices and the boundary edges). The table of vertex runs describes a vertex spanning tree that provides additional connectivity information to construct the triangular mesh from the polygon. The associated data record determines the exact position of the triangular mesh in space.

Abstract: Computer users access and/or execute a selected restricted function on a computer using a graphical user interface (GUI) by entering an iconic password that is defined by selecting two or more visual icons, called code icons, in a sequence called an iconic password sequence. The entered sequence is compared to a target sequence that represents the restricted function. If the entered sequence matches the target sequence, the user is permitted to execute/access the restricted function. The number of possible combinations in the target sequence, and therefore system security, can be increased by inputting both a code icon and a target site for one or more of the components of the target sequence.

Abstract: Occurrences of proper names in text are identified by scanning one or more documents in a database of a computer system to identify one or more sequences of capitalized words and other specially defined words that appear in the documents as raw names. Each of the raw names has zero or more proper names, zero or more medial substrings, zero or more leading substrings, and zero or more trailing substrings. The raw names of one or more documents are "cleaned" and "split" until certain "cleaning and splitting conditions" are no longer met to obtain a list of clean and split candidate names.

Abstract: A transponder has a resonant RLC circuit with one or more electromagnetic energy storage components that vary in response to an externally applied modulating energy field. In addition to the externally modulating energy field, a base station transmits a carrier signal with a frequency essentially the same as the quiescent resonant frequency of the RLC circuit. As the component(s) vary, the resonant frequency of the RLC circuit changes, modulating the carrier signal with the external modulating energy field. Effects of the modulation are detected by the base station. Information (e.g., the presence of a tag) is obtained by receiving and demodulating the modulated signal at the base station. One or more of the circuit elements (e.g., different preferred embodiments of one or more capacitors, inductors, and resistors) can be varied (e.g. mechanically) to modulate the carrier signal.

Abstract: A central processing unit (CPU) in a computer that permits speculative parallel execution of more than one instruction thread. The CPU uses Fork-Suspend instructions that are added to the instruction set of the CPU, and are inserted in a program prior to run-time to delineate potential future threads for parallel execution. The CPU has an instruction cache with one or more instruction cache ports, a bank of one or more program counters, a bank of one or more dispatchers, a thread management unit that handles inter-thread communications and discards future threads that violate dependencies, a set of architectural registers common to all threads, and a scheduler that schedules parallel execution of the instructions on one or more functional units in the CPU.

Abstract: A new data structure describes an inheritance network with exceptions, augmented with rules attached to nodes in the network, a background context of rules and information, and an optional prioritization of links in the network. A process that determines which rules apply to classes (nodes) in the taxonomy exploits the structure of the network, in particular specificity and path prioritization, to get preferred maximally consistent subsets of rules that apply at specified nodes.

Abstract: A uniform distribution of affine invariants is produced for a plurality of one or more two-dimensional objects. Each of the two-dimensional objects is defined by a set of object points selected from an object feature domain. By selecting one or more five-point tuples of the object points, three of the object points divide the object feature domain into a region arrangement of seven regions while the fourth point of the four-point tuple lies in one of the seven regions and each of the four-point tuples further defines each of the seven regions as one of four non convex quadrilateral arrangements or one of three convex quadrilateral arrangements. A four-point tuple is said to belong to class I if the fourth point of the tuple resides in the I-th of the 7 regions defined by the first three points. A tagger identifies each of the four-point tuples as having one of the arrangements with one of the regions containing the fourth point of the four-point tuple.

Abstract: Using a graphical user interface (GUI), users manipulate, organize, classify, and/or arrange icons by having the icons bind (stick) to one another and be moved as aggregates. Icons sticky sites may be on icons, windows, or other graphical objects. For example, when an icon with a sticky site is dragged close to another icon with a sticky site, the icons bind together and are subsequently moved as one graphical unit. In some embodiments, a visual indication or binding is given. The icons may be unbound by pointing to an unbinder icon, or using a button sequence on the mouse of keyboard.

Abstract: A uniform distribution of affine invariants (3-tuples) is produced for a plurality of one or more three-dimensional objects. Each of the three-dimensional objects, capable of a plurality of affine transformations, is defined by a set of object points (feature points) selected from an object feature domain. By selecting one or more five-point tuples of the object points, four of the object points divide the object feature domain into a region arrangement of fifteen regions while the fifth point of the five-point tuple lies in one of the fifteen regions and each of the five-point tuples further defines each of the fifteen regions as one of five reentrant polyhedral (RP) arrangements or one of ten non-reentrant polyhedral (NRP) arrangements. A five-point tuple is said to belong to class i if the fifth point of the tuple resides in the i-th of the 15 regions defined by the first four points.

Abstract: A reference storage process populates a data structure so that the data structure contains all of the molecular structures and/or rigid substructures in the data base classified according to attributes of tuples. In a preferred embodiment, the tuples are derived from sites (e.g. atomic sites) of the molecular structures and the attributes can be derived from geometric (and other) information related to the tuples. The attributes are used to define indices in the data structure that are associated with invariant vector information (e.g. information about rotatable bond(s) in skewed local coordinate frames created from tuples). These representations are invariant with respect to the rotation and translation of molecular structures and/or the rotation of substructures about attached rotatable bond(s). Accordingly, the invariant vector information is classified in the data structure with the respective tuple attributes in locations determined by the index derived from the respective tuple.