Abstract: A temporal correlation SONAR calculates the velocity and position of a water navigable craft. A first pulse and a second set of pulses are transmitted towards an ocean bottom. A tetrad of hydrophones on the craft receives echoes of the pulses. A correlation between the first pulse received on one hydrophone with the second pulses received on another hydrophone produces correlation points, for which a correlogram is generated. The distance between the hydrophones is divided by twice the time value at the peak of the correlation to calculate the velocity of the vessel. Another correlation is generated for hydrophones pairs that are positioned diagonally from one another, and maximum correlation values, along with hydrophone angles, are used to calculate athwart-ship velocity.

Abstract: A ship designed to achieve high speed through the use of multiple, low wave-making resistance, submerged hullform pods is constructed for stable operation during maneuvers with and without a payload. Movable fins on the submerged hullform pods are constructed and are operable to provide the turning and to counteract an inertial moment produced by an elevated center of gravity of the ship so that the ship turns flat or rolls into a turn and does not roll out of a turn. A load balancing pod is movable fore-to-aft and side-to-side to balance the amount and the location of varied payloads on the ship. The movement of the fins may be a tilting movement, or each fin can be maintained at a set angle but extendable out of and retractable into a related pod to create the amount of side force needed for maneuvers and/or to control the amount of lift that might be needed during operation of the ship.

Abstract: A chassis for circuit cards has a housing, a front end, a connector end, and a top cover. The housing has an airflow slot on its underside, and the top cover is open in nature, the combination of which allows the flow of forced convection air from top to bottom (or vice versa) to cool the circuit cards. The connector end has alignment pins which assist in blind mating of the chassis in difficult to access areas. Stabilizer rods, spacers and spacer brackets, made from stainless steel, hold the circuit cards in place and protect them from shock, vibration, and other trauma. The front end has a jacking type screw which enables one to exert sufficient pressure so that the greater than 200 I/O pins at the connector end are easily forced into receiving sockets.

Abstract: An elongated missile launcher cell is structured to allow arraying into multiple-cell array. Each missile launcher cell of the array includes a support structure which accommodates a canisterized missile. Each cell also includes its own chimney and exhaust gas plenum, so that it may be used individually. Since each cell has its own missile exhaust capability, there is no need to keep one or more bays of a missile launcher array vacant to provide for venting of exhaust gases.

Abstract: An infrared beam is directed to the surface of a Mylar mirror, and the mirror reflects that beam. The reflected beam is detected, and data gleaned from the reflected beam is used to determine whether the optics of the mirror must be adjusted. The optics of the mirror are adjusted by varying voltage applied to electrostatic actuators on the frame of the mirror, or varying the pressure in chambers formed by the mirror frame and mirror surface.

Abstract: The passive dynamically disconnecting arm features an arm having two ends wherein attached to the first end is a housing having both a plunger and an electrical connector providing positive engagement force during shock or vibration. The second end of the arm features a trunnion and torsion spring. The arm features a slot wherein a rod is placed inside operatively coupled to both the plunger and trunnion. When an object is attached to the electrical connector, the spring-loaded plunger compresses preventing the rod from moving and causing the second end of the rod to couple with a divot within the trunnion. When the object moves a predetermined distance, the spring-loaded plunger decouples from the rod and the electrical connector detaches from the object. The arm, by means of a torsion spring attached to the arm's second end, translates and rotates out of the object's path without striking the object.

Abstract: A method for creating and maintaining user home directories and providing for user access across a heterogeneous network of managed servers based on the user account information of the central server. Upon determination that the function of home directories is supported, the target server name is determined and the type of server is extracted from the target server. Based on the server type, appropriate commands are issued to create the necessary directories on the target server. After establishment of the directories, access rights are established to enable the directory to be shared and available to the user through client systems in the network. Connections to the home directory are then made when a request is initiated by the user.

Abstract: An electronic control system for motors for the operation of winding devices, such as roller shades, roller gates, rolling shutters and similar, comprises a radio receiver included in the motor being controlled and a portable radio transmitter available to the user. The radio transmitter comprises at least two push-buttons for the control of the lifting and lowering movement of the winding device and a first micro-controller provided with a first code memory that, at each pressure on at least one of said control push-buttons, sends a codified signal having a respective identification code of the push-button being pressed.

Abstract: A system is described which permits a financial institution to provide for testing of software and equipment which is intended for use in an electronic funds transfer network. The system permits the validation of the software and equipment without requiring utilizing the electronic funds transfer central switch which would otherwise process electronic funds transfers.

Abstract: A method for enabling target servers in a network server environment to control determination of a full synchronization update on a target server from a central server. Administrative privileges are used to establish a link on the target server to force a request from the target server back to the central server for initialization of a full synchronization on the target server. The request will be such that the central server will determine full synchronization is necessary based on the status of the managed server.

Abstract: In distributed memory multiprocessors, communication between processing elements (PEs) can have a significant impact on the overall computation time. In addition, contention for the communication links can often make PEs wait even longer for a message than would normally be required. Because of this, it is important to minimize the effects of inter-processor communication time. The present invention reduces the execution time of a parallel program by merging messages (also called message combining, or message consolidation) after the program has already been partitioned and scheduled onto the PEs. The data from two (or more) messages are combined and sent in a single communication by locating sections of the system where a merge will affect the overall execution time, and determining before the merge takes place whether it will positively or negatively affect the system.

Abstract: A method of cursive address recognition of mail pieces using adaptive dictionary management is provided which includes creating a plurality of word databases containing the most frequently observed words in a particular portion of an address block derived from training data. Word images from various portions of the address block are extracted and the word images are compared to the database corresponding to the appropriate portion of the address block using a cursive word recognition engine. The search order of the word databases are updated based on the frequency of occurrence of recognized words in a predetermined number of previously evaluated addresses.

Abstract: A method and system for placing annotations of various sizes on a display without overlapping the annotations is described. Each annotation is represented by its rectangular bounding box along with an identifying line or arrow that joins the rectangle with the display object that is to be annotated. These rectangles and lines are stored in a list. When an additional annotation is to be placed on the display, it is tested at various positions to determine if there is overlap with the annotations that are already on the display. The tested positions are chosen by varying the length of the identifying line and the angle it forms with the horizontal. When a position is found that yields no overlap, the annotation is placed on the display and added to the list of positioned annotations. This approach is very fast due to the simplicity of the overlap tests, which consist of simple geometric operations.

Abstract: A power bus digital communication system reduces power and signal cabling in a space satellite by transformer coupling digital signal sources to power bus circuits, the transformer coupling devices in all power bus circuits being in parallel relation and electrically isolated from a power supply whereby the digital communication sources may communicate among themselves at a DC power level using a square wave modulated according to a Manchester code.

Abstract: Measuring the difference in dihedral angles formed by planes defined by a pair of passive sensors, a target, and a reference plane to determine whether both sensors are tracking the same target. The reference plane is defined by the positions of the two sensors and the origin of the system's reference coordinates. A sensor-target plane is determined by the sensor's position, the position of the other sensor, and the position of its target. If the target is the same for both sensors, the sensor-target planes will be substantially the same and their dihedral angles formed with the reference plane will be substantially equal. If the target is not the same for both sensors, then a statistic relating to the dihedral angles with the reference plane will be significant. A decision based on the dihedral angle statistic and a statistic derived from the tracking predictor, e.g., the Kalman Filter Residual, can be made whether the target is maneuvering, has been lost, is correctly tracked.

Abstract: A high performance, real-time control sequencer is disclosed which incorporates a unique state matrix logic. This real-time control sequencer performs rapid resolution of control processed state transitions and the required control actions as a function of detected external events and the current control process state. The control sequencer's micro-instructions present event and current state data as inputs to a state matrix logic and initiate state matrix operations. The state matrix, in turn, outputs data defining and initiating the next control process state, required process control actions to be performed by the control sequencer microcode, process status, and event response or control output data. The real-time, event-driven data processor invention provides greater flexibility for reconfiguring event patterns to be detected and responses desired.

Abstract: A method and system for generating an anti-aliased image of a three dimensional surface is described. A point of view of the display screen is specified by an azimuth angle and an elevation angle with respect to the three-dimensional surface. The surface is defined as a two-dimensional array of height values. The projection of a point of the surface to the display plane is performed by applying a rotation based on the azimuth and elevation angles, followed by a parallel projection to the display plane so that, the columns of the surface project to the columns of the display screen. The points of the surface are projected in pairs, starting with the nearest points within a column and proceeding to the farthest points of the column. The grey-level shading (or color) values are accumulated in a one-dimensional array of floating-point variables that store the intensities of the pixels of a column of the display screen.

Abstract: A peripheral circuit interface adapter for a computer system is defined whose function is established programmatically rather than being designed, laid out and fabricated uniquely for each different function the interface adapter might perform. A designer can program the interface adapter function and then cause that function to be defined dynamically through downloading on the interface adapter when the system on which it resides is powered on. The interface adapter contains rudimentary bus interface elements and external interface section and a control section. The control section establishes the overall function of the adapter and is defined by a field programmable gate array that assumes specific wiring characteristics as a result of downloading from the hosting system.

Abstract: A hand held control device formed as a rigid body adapted to be gripped and carried by a single hand of a user and comprising a plurality of control elements operable by the thumb or a finger of the user's hand gripping and carrying the body, a pointing stick and a chirality detector for sensing whether a right or left hand is gripping and carrying the body for controlling the flow of information to or from a computer.

Abstract: A data processing system includes branch prediction apparatus for storing branch data in a branch prediction RAM after each branch has occurred. The RAM interfaces with branch logic means which tracks whether a branch is in progress and if a branch was guessed. An operational code compression means forms each instruction into a new operation code of lesser bits and embeds a guess bit into the new operational code. Control means decode the compressed operational code as an input to an instruction execution unit whereby conditional branch occurs based on the guess bit provided a branch instruction is not in progress in the system.