Abstract: A method to help and displace Help Panels containing information to explain Command Functions, Command Syntax, and Command Parameters to the operator of an interactive information handling system in response to the entry of a "Command Help Request" into said system by said operator. The method displays the selected panel as an overlay on the existing screen at the time the Command Help request is entered into the system. Selection of the panel to be displayed is based on an analysis by the system as to what commands are valid or active for the next step in the process or task that the system is performing. The operator may select directly from the Command Help Panel overlay, the desired command, or alternately enter the command desired by moving the cursor to the command area of the underlying screen and keying in the command.

Abstract: A coil for a voice coil actuator employed in a transducer positioning system of a disk file is disclosed in which the coil is constructed to minimize vibrations in a direction parallel to the coil axis which tend to occur as a result of rapidly energizing the coil during the seek and track following modes of the positioning system. The coil is characterized by a composite layer of viscoelastic material and aluminum foil disposed between the coil bobbin and the coil winding where the aluminum foil functions to increase the shear deformation of the viscoelastic material and its modulus of rigidity.

Abstract: A sleeve/rod type squeeze bearing system is disclosed in which the piezoceramic driving element is placed in compression to an extent that limits or eliminates stress reversals of the piezoceramic driving element during vibrating cycles. Eliminating or limiting stress reversals increases reliability of the bearing system and extends the useful life of the bearing elements. The bearing load of such a system may also be increased.

Abstract: A recording channel for a disk file including analog circuits implemented in integrated circuits whose frequency dependent parameters are controllable in response to the value of a control signal supplied to the circuit, as determined by a digital signal. In the preferred embodiment, the control signal to each analog circuit is from a digital to analog converter that is supplied with a digital signal from a register that is addressable and settable from a programmed microcontroller. Certain registers are able to be incremented or decremented by separate clock pulses and function as counters that are controlled by a signal in a feedback path separate from the microcontroller. Components external to the integrated circuits are, therefore, avoided while still maintaining the ability to adjust the analog read circuits to be responsive to data rates of different frequencies.

Abstract: A sleeve/rod type squeeze bearing system is disclosed in which the cross-sectional geometry of the piezoceramic bearing driving element is geometrically dissimilar to the cross-sectional geometry of the bearing element to which it is connected. The arrangement permits the cross-sectional geometries of both bearing elements and the piezoceramic driving element to be optimized to perform their intended functions.

Abstract: An improved coil construction for the voice coil motor of a transducer positioning system of a magnetic disk drive results in increased coil strength while eliminating the tendency of volatile materials associated with either the assembly process or the coil insulation to be entrapped between turns. Insulated aluminum ribbon wire having a rectangular cross-section is edge wound on a mandrel with adjacent turns being bonded together and then subjected to a curing process. By subjecting the ribbon wire to a knurling process prior to winding, the flat surfaces of the ribbon wire are provided with a plurality of knurl prints on each side which extend between opposite edges of the wire in a direction transverse to the lengthwise dimension of the ribbon wire. After winding, the knurl prints serve as interturn vents to prevent entrapment of any volatile materials generated during the curing process. The construction substantially doubles the tensile strength of the coil.

Abstract: A two-level multibyte error correcting system is disclosed for correcting up to t.sub.1 one-byte errors in a codeword in response to processing 2t.sub.1 non-zero syndrome bytes at the first level and up to t.sub.2 one-byte errors in a codeword in response to processing 2t.sub.2 non-zero syndromes bytes at the second level when processing said 2t.sub.1 syndrome bytes at said first level does not produce an all zero pattern for said 2t.sub.2 syndrome bytes. A relatively long block of data may be divided into subblocks, each of which may contain up to t.sub.1 -x one-byte errors that are correctable at the first level by processing 2t.sub.1 non-zero syndrome bytes where one identifiable subblock of the word may contain up to t.sub.1 +x one-byte errors which are correctable by processing said 2t.sub.2 non-zero syndrome bytes where 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.(t.sub.2 -t.sub.1).

Abstract: A method is disclosed for assisting the operator of an interactive text processing system to add a list of numbers that have been entered into the system during the creation of a document. The method involves the operator positioning the cursor adjacent the first number in the sequence by operating the cursor move keys. The next step involves the operator pressing and holding either the "column add" or the "row add" function key while watching the movement of the cursor from the first number in the sequence to succeeding numbers in the sequence until the cursor is positioned adjacent the last number in the sequence, at which time the function key is released. The last step in the process is for the operator to press the Enter key which enters the total into the system for subsequent processing and displays the total in the appropriate location on the display.

Abstract: An improved method is disclosed for entering record selection criteria into an interactive text processing system which also processes spatially related data that is stored in vector formatted record. A qualifying frame is displayed consisting of a header row and, for example, three qualifying rows. The header row includes the field names and the qualifying rows are blank, except for the vertical lines depicting field boundaries. Selection criteria are entered into the system by positioning the cursor to the appropriate row/column intersection and entering the selection data for that field. Criterium entered in different fields in one row represent a "logical AND" selection, while criterium in different rows represent a "logical OR" situation.

Abstract: A method to assist the operator of an interactive text processing system to update program modules associated with one of a plurality of text processing programs that have been combined on a two-sided, double-density (2S2D) combined program/work diskette. The method involves creating a new 2S2D combined program/work diskette by transferring the programming modules and other data from the old 2S2D combined program/work diskette so that the transferred programming modules assigned to each data set are recorded in module number order after each data set directory and the data set directories are also recorded in sequential order, and replacing a program module on the new 2S2D combined program/work diskette with a corresponding module from the 1S1D diskette containing the updated programs whenever the "build number" of the corresponding module on the 2S2D diskette is lower than the module on the 1S1D diskette.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for processing syndrome bytes in a multibyte error correcting system in which up to t errors are correctable by processing 2t syndrome bytes. The method involves converting syndrome bytes into t+1 coefficients of the error locator polynomial by predetermined product operations and exclusive-OR operations involving selected syndrome bytes to produce cofactors that correspond to the desired coefficients when less than t errors occurred in the codeword. The cofactors are combined to produce coefficients when t errors occur and the correct set of coefficients are selected in accordance with the number of errors that are detected.The apparatus involves logical circuitry for obtaining sets of coefficients from selected syndrome bytes where each set is associated with a different number of errors in the codeword and in which a set of coefficients associated with t-1 errors is a cofactor of the set of coefficients associated with t errors.

Abstract: A fault alignment exclusion method and apparatus is disclosed which operates to prevent the alignment of two or more defective bit storage locations at an address in a memory array. The disclosed memory comprises a plurality (n.times.m) of separate memory chips arranged in a matrix of n rows and m columns. Each of the chips contains a large plurality (64K) of individually addressable bit locations. A plurality of data words, each containing m (72) bit positions are transferred from the memory array to a n (16) word m (72) bit position buffer during a memory read operation. Steering logic responsive to control signals is disposed between the memory and the buffer which permits the n chips in each column of the array to be effectively rearranged selectively within the respective columns so that the relationship of any given chip to a position of the 16 storage positions in a corresponding buffer column may be selectively changed by the control signals applied to the steering logic.

Abstract: An improved cooling and filtration system for a disk file is provided in which a closed loop path is established in the disk enclosure extending from the area of the disk hub through holes in disk spacers radially outward across the disk surface, down the vertical walls of the enclosure and back to the impellar of the disk hub through one of two parallel branch segments of the closed loop. One of the parallel branch segments is through a high impedance, low volume filter branch which contains a filter to remove debris. The other branch segment is a low impedance, high volume branch which includes the hot side of a heat exchanger which is an integral part of the disk file baseplate on which the disk shaft and positioning system components are mounted. A separate open loop path outside of the disk enclosure extends from the impellar surface of the driving pulley attached to the disk spindle through the cold side of the heat exchanger.

Abstract: A movable head disk file is disclosed in which the disk enclosure is hermetically sealed to prevent contamination from the surrounding atmosphere from adversely affecting the head-disk interface relationship. The heat that is normally generated in the enclosure from the electrical components and as a result of the friction between gas molecules in the container and the surface of the rotating magnetic disks is transferred from the enclosure through the baseplate of the file to a thermal conduction module disposed outside the disk enclosure. The thermal conduction module is water cooled by a closed loop circulating system. The temperature of the enclosure is, therefore, controlled since the heat generated in the file is transferred to the thermal module through the baseplate which is in a thermal conducting relationship to the thermal module, whose temperature, in turn, is controlled by the velocity of the water circulating through the module.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for operating a fault tolerant memory system which is provided with a fault alignment exclusion mechanism of the type disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 388,834. The method allows the assignment of a new permute vector to the fault alignment mechanism even though the memory is operating and storing user data. The method rearranges the data in the affected column by transferring data in one chip to another chip in the column through a buffer under the control of the old and new permute vectors. The transfer operation involves transferring the data at the same bit position from each chip in the column to a buffer under the control of the old permute vector and then transferring the data from the buffer to the same bit positions in other chips in the column determined by the new permute vector. The memory is then returned to the user for normal operation.

Abstract: An online system is disclosed for mapping errors into an error map as data is transferred between a CPU and a relatively large fault tolerant semiconductor memory system without interfering with the normal use of the memory. The error mapping system permits a fault alignment exclusion mechanism to develop permute vectors which realign pair faults that were located at the same memory address. Having an up-to-date fault map which reflects the current error status of the memory when it is online and which reflects errors based on user data patterns greatly enhances the memory system and facilitates fault alignment exclusion efficiency.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for improving the efficiency of an operator of an interactive text processing system in which a plurality of different text processing task programs are each stored on a different single-sided, single-density (1S1D) diskette so that in the creation and use of a text document involving several different tasks, the operator's efficiency is decreased due to the time involved in inserting and removing each required diskette. The method involves creating a combined program diskette on a two-sided, double-density (2S2D) diskette by sequentially transferring program modules for interactively selected text processing task programs from corresponding 1S1D diskettes under the control of a "Combine" program. The method provides one 2S2D combined text processing program diskette containing all the programs necessary to create and use a specific text document by means of the selected tasks.

Abstract: An improved method is disclosed for assisting the operator of an interactive text processing system in entering instructional data which defines to the system changes to stored spatially related data. The method involves the operator identifying to the system the task to be accomplished and the name and the location of the source file in the system, displaying to the operator on the screen of the display device the header portion of the file, which defines the fields or column names, and converting sequences of operator keystrokes representing conventional text editing operations on selected fields of the displayed header to instructions for use by the system in processing records of the file.

Abstract: An improved text processing method is disclosed which permits spatially related data to be displayed and edited by the same method employed to display and edit conventional text type data in an interactive text processing system which includes a keyboard, a display device, and a microprocessor.

Abstract: An improved method is disclosed for providing to the operator of an interactive text processing system a displayed summary confirming the effect of requested changes to the field order in an existing file of spatially related data stored in the system prior to creation of new file.The method involves simultaneously displaying to the operator on one screen the header portions of the existing source file and the destination file and causing the data in predetermined fields of each header to be displayed in a manner which is different than the manner in which the data in the remaining fields of said headers is displayed so as to manifest to the operator similar treatment by the system of the data in both headers which is similarly displayed.The header portion of the source file is displayed such that those fields which are not to be copied into the destination file are reverse video displayed, while those fields which are to be copied to the destination file are in normal display.