Abstract: A filter is disclosed for adaptively filtering a PAL or NTSC luminance signal so as to attenuate the high frequency portion of the luminance band, wherein the chrominance information lies, when movement is detected. This reduces cross-color in the reproduced picture. Movement is detected by comparing the undelayed luminance signal with this signal delayed by an integral number of lines corresponding substantially to one field or one picture. The filter may precede a coder or follow a decoder.

Abstract: A data processing system having a flexible internal structure, protected from and effectively invisible to users, with multilevel control and stack mechanism and capability of performing multiple, concurrent operations, and providing a flexible, simplified interface to users. The system is internally comprised of a plurality of separate, independent processors, each having a separate microinstruction control and at least one separate, independent port to a central communications and memory node. The communications and memory node is an independent processor having separate, independent microinstruction control and comprised of a plurality of independently operating, microinstruction controlled processors capable of performing multiple, concurrent memory and communications operations. Addressing mechanisms allow permanent, unique identification of information and an extremely large address space accessible and common to all such systems. Addresses are independent of system physical configuration.

Abstract: In a telecine apparatus having a film transport mechanism for moving a film at a nominally constant speed and including a motor driving a capstan around which the film passes, there is a sensor for line-by-line scanning of the film to provide a raster-scanned electrical output signal representative of the film image. Also included is a scan control and a film speed measuring device coupled to the capstan to provide an output representative of the instantaneous film speed. A compensating device connects the output of the film speed measuring device to an input of the scan control such that the scan time of a particular line scanned by the sensor is varied to compensate for fluctuations in the film speed.

Abstract: A detection system for use in a movable large haulage vehicle operating in a controlled ground environment to prevent collision with other objects in the environment wherein such objects each have a source for omnidirectionally radiating an optical pulsed signal having a selected pulse repetition rate which identifies the object. The vehicle uses detectors mounted at selected locations on the vehicle, which detectors respond to pulsed signals from objects in close proximity to the vehicle. Appropriate circuitry is used to detect the presence of the objects, the ground direction of the objects relative to the vehicle, and the type of objects so detected.

Abstract: In a data processing system which uses a common bus for communication of address and data information among a plurality of system components, a bus timing technique uses a clock signal having a transfer time period which comprises a plurality of subperiods which requires address transfer to take place during a first selected group of subperiods and data to be transferred during a second selected group of subperiods with idle subperiods in between. A first control signal is generated by the data receiving or data supplying unit in order to inhibit access to the bus until such transfer is completed and a second control signal can be provided to lock-in bus access by such unit if desired for more than one transfer period. Appropriate priority is arranged for bus access among selected system components whether the common bus system has a single bus for use with a single port memory or a dual bus for use with a dual port memory.

Abstract: For both recording and replay, a digital audio tape (14) is accelerated very rapidly by a motor servo (9), motor (8) and capstan (7) so that the tape speed overshoots nominal speed range before settling back to this range in an oscillatory manner. The digital samples are recorded and replayed via a head (15), a random access memory (16) and input/output electronics (19). During recording, the store (17) is precharged by starting to write in as soon as acceleration is initiated. Read-out to the tape is initiated as soon as the tape first reaches the nominal speed range. Uniformity of samples as recorded on the tape is preserved by clocking a read address generator (21) at a rate proportional to tape speed, signaled by a tachometer (7). The write address generator is clocked at the constant sampling rate. For replay the write address generator is clocked at the tape speed rate while the read address generator (21) is clocked at the constant sample rate.

Abstract: The processor of the present invention can execute any of a plurality of dialects of "S-Language" instructions. S-Languages are of a higher order than typical machine languages but of a lower order than the user's own high order language. They can be tailored for compatibility with user high order languages. Each instruction of a particular S-Language is interpreted by a sequence of microinstructions. In the processor of the present invention, dispatching to the microinstruction sequencer is controlled jointly by the instruction bit pattern and the current contents of a dialect register. Each procedure to be executed carries with it information from which the appropriate contents of the dialect register may be determined. Thus, the processor of the present invention can always operate as an effective optimum processor for executing the procedure regardless of the source language chosen for writing that procedure.

Abstract: An acoustic wave signal processing device which in a preferred embodiment utilizes at least one holographic grating formed within a portion of the interior of a substrate which is capable of supporting the propagation of bulk acoustic wave signals therein. The grating provides spatially varying acoustic impedances within the substrate and interacts with bulk acoustic wave signals propagated therethrough so as to produce output acoustic wave signals. The grating and transducers for producing and receiving the input and output bulk acoustic wave signals, respectively, can be arranged to provide a variety of signal processing operations which may be desired, such as providing resonating operations and filter operations, for example.

Abstract: A display system for displaying a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional raster display screen wherein a host processor supplies input information on the geometric elements, e.g. polygons, which make up the image to a local display processor which processes said input information and provides data concerning the location, color, intensity and depth of the points which make up the surfaces of the polygon. The depth data is stored in a depth buffer which is a part of the display processor and the color and intensity data is also stored directly in a frame buffer or as color index data in the frame buffer which is used to address the desired color and intensity stored in a color look-up table. The color and intensity video data is supplied to a suitable display means, such as a cathode ray tube.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for processing a series of digital signals representing a stroke of a stylus on a tablet to remove signals at the ends of the stroke caused by retracing, the series of signals corresponding to the X and Y coordinates of a series of points along the direction of travel of the stroke. The signals for each point in the series are compared to the signals of the points adjacent to it to form a second series of signals which contain only those signals corresponding to points having an ordinate value more extreme than the corresponding ordinate value of its adjacent points. The first three points in the second series of signals are then processed to determine the ratio of the distance from the first point to the second point to the distance from the second point to the third point and to determine the size of the angle formed by the three points. The distance ratio is fed into a table-look-up which outputs a reference angle signal which is compared to the processed angle signal.

Abstract: A novel and improved ultra tough polymer plastic material wherein a first polymer portion of the material has substantially non-oriented molecules forming a matrix within which there is a second polymer portion of the material having substantially oriented molecules, the first and second portions forming substantially continuous interface regions therebetween in which the first and second portions are highly diffused with each other. In a particular novel process for forming such material, one or more fibers of the material are formed and the molecules thereof are selectively oriented, the fibers are then processed to increase the thermal stability of the selectively oriented molecules so as to maintain the selected orientation thereof and a selected arrangement of the processed fibers are molded at a selected temperature and pressure, the pressure being maintained throughout the heating and cooling step of the molding process to prevent any change in the selective orientation of the molecules.

Abstract: A clock generator source, a plurality of which can be used as redundant clock sources in a fault tolerant clock system. The input and output clock signals of said source being formed of a plurality of pulses having a frequency substantially higher than the frequency of the input and output signals, one pulse being omitted in each cycle thereof to form a "dead interval" therein when the input and output signals are in phase. When the output signal is not in phase with the input signal at the start of a cycle the length of the cycle of the output signal is either lengthened or shortened by inserting a second dead interval or omitting the dead interval, respectively, to bring the input and output signals in phase by the end of the cycle.

Abstract: In producing an edited tape (31) the lead-in material up to a first edit point is separated from the lead-out material running from a second edit point by a space containing unwanted material and accommodating the actual or notional splice. The unwanted material ensures correct operation of error protection for all of the wanted material on replay. The first and second edit points are marked by codes placed on the tape (31) by a code processor (43) and supplementary head (42). During replay the digital data recovered from the tape by a head (32) is entered into a random access buffer store (34) under control of a write address generator (38) and read out to output electronics (37) under control of a read address generator (39) running at the audio sampling rate.

Abstract: A digital transmission system for transmitting, e.g., television sound has two packet type indicators indicating, e.g., mono/stereo transmission. Normally the same packet type indicator is transmitted for a long sequence of packets. To provide synchronizing information to enable, e.g., appropriate timing of a sound signal to the associated video signal, the packet type indicator for a single packet is changed to an indicator which is inappropriate to the packet concerned but is appropriate to another type of packet.

Abstract: A dental materials dispenser is disclosed with an actuator operated by an electronically controlled motor. The dispenser may be used in conjunction with a disposable cartridge removably mountable in the dispenser. The cartridge includes a hollow needle comprising an integral heating element along its length. An electronic controller regulates the speed and direction of the motor and the current delivered to the heating element.

Abstract: A digital computer system having a memory system organized into objects for storing data and a processor for processing data in response to instructions. An object identifier is associated with each object. The memory system responds to logical addresses for data which specify the object containing the data and the offset of the data in the object. The objects include procedure objects and data objects. The procedure objects contain procedures including the instructions. Each instruction contains an operation code which belongs to one of several sets of operation codes. All instructions in a single procedure belong to a single operation code set, and associated with each procedure is an operation code set identifier specifying the operation code set to which the instructions in the procedure belongs.

Abstract: A communication system has a first station (SO) and a plurality of further stations (S1-S4), two communication channels (A, B), for transmission in opposite directions, serially connecting the stations. The first station includes routing means operable in a double looped mode to route signals received on each channel onto the respective other channel and the further stations each including routing means operable in a through mode to forward, in the same channel, signals received on each channel, thereby forming a single folded transmision path. Preferably the further stations each are responsive to the cessation of signalling energy (e.g.

Abstract: A technique for improving the wear characteristics of a movable surface of a body which is to be relatively moved in contact with the surface of another body, wherein the movable surface has a plurality of void regions therein which extend from the surface into the interior of the body, the dimensions of the void regions and the spacing therebetween being generally such that wear particles generated at the interface regions between the relatively moving surfaces are removed from the interface regions into the void regions where they are entrapped.

Abstract: A multitrack tape recorder records and replays digital data on a plurality of data tracks (15) by way of record/replay electronics (7), a record head (5) and a replay head (6). Channels (8) corresponding to the tape track (15) are provided for input to and output from the electronics (7). An additional channel (11) carries auxiliary data related to the signals in the channels (8). This data is formatted during recording by the electronics (7) into a block format compatible with the data format on channels (15) and is recorded on a separate dedicated track (16). The auxiliary information may be formatted in labels each of which has an instruction field and a parameter field. The labels can carry a wide variety of information relating to operation of the system. As one example, a label may contain in the instruction field an instruction to increase the playback gain by an amount contained in the parameter field.

Abstract: A digital data processing system using process synchronization techniques which comprise processing await logic for suspending the execution of a program controlled by a process, virtual processor await logic for performing an await operation at the virtual processor level and for temporarily inhibiting the loading of state items for the execution of the program, virtual processor advance logic for performing an advance operation at the virtual processor level to cease the inhibition of the loading of such state items, and process advance logic for causing the processor of the system to resume execution of the suspended program which is under control of the process.