Abstract: A simulated keyboard data input device for a user with limited hand function comprises a hand-worn glove having multiple sensors capable of detecting minute motion of the fingers, the minute voluntary motion being significantly less than typically required for keystrokes in a conventional keyboard. A sensor interpreter is individually configured to recognize a user's finger movements as respective keys of a keyboard. The user “types” text on the simulated keyboard by repeating those combinations of minute finger motion of which the user is capable to produce keyboard characters from the sensor interpreter. Preferably, the sensor interpreter comprises a virtual keystroke detector and a key decoder, both of which are individually calibrated.

Abstract: A method for producing a response to driving conditions ahead of a land vehicle such as an automobile includes a second vehicle using information received from a first vehicle traveling ahead of it to adjust vehicle mechanisms such as the suspension to cancel adverse effects of road anomalies sensed by the first vehicle.

Abstract: A telephone message system identifies a caller with an incoming message, and sorts messages according to caller identifying information for presentation to the user. Preferably, messages are grouped according to the caller's telephone number, but may alternatively be grouped using voice recognition technology. When a user plays back a large number of messages, all messages from the same number or person will be grouped together, making it easier to follow a chain of messages. The user may optionally prioritize message groups, either explicitly of by letting the system assign a priority.

Abstract: An inter-chip line transmission circuit in a transmitting chip and complementary receiving circuit in a receiving chip provide the capability to characterize the inter-chip interface by separately generating identical pseudo-random test data at both chips, comparing the data, and recording errors. Preferably, one or both chips can be tuned on an individual line basis to reduce errors by altering threshold detection voltage, signal delay, and/or driver power. The receiver circuit preferably contains counters for counting test cycles and errors, which can be masked for any particular line or type of error. A tunable and characterizable interface in accordance with the preferred embodiment thus supports the accurate determination of low error rates on an individual line basis for various tuning parameter settings.

Abstract: A web user may elect to have certain frequently changing web content audibly presented in the background while performing other tasks. Content may be audibly presented when it changes, or at user-specified intervals. Audible presentation does not require that any other task in which the user is engaged be interrupted. Preferably, audible background presentation is an optional feature in a web browser. The user selects web content by highlighting a portion or portions of one or more web pages. The user specifies any of various options for audible presentation, such as at fixed intervals, every time any content changes, or every time selected content changes. At the specified intervals or events, the selected web content is converted from text to speech, and audibly played over the computer's speaker.

Abstract: A relatively long, narrow defect in a digital image is repaired by identifying an elongated area to be repaired, and by automatically calculating pixel color/shade values within the area to be repaired from pixel values in the vicinity of the perimeter of the elongated area. Preferably, a user identifies an elongated rectangular area to be repaired on an interactive display. The computer automatically generates the pixel coordinates of a pair of parallel lines constituting the opposite long sides of the rectangle, and a set of line segments running between the long sides. The interior pixels of the rectangle are then filled by interpolating color values along each line segment. Since this method is not guaranteed to fill all pixels, the system optionally maintains a map of pixels filled and not filled while performing this method, and after completion, performs an additional step of assigning to any unfilled pixels a value based on the average of all adjacent pixels.

Abstract: To provide a method for enabling a trace of a stack even without the base pointer. When compiling a subroutine, a stack pointer (SP) change table is created and registered with a subroutine together with an initial frame size, the table recording a pair of an address of a code and the amount of change in the stack pointer from the initial frame size, the code causing an address of the stack pointer to be changed, and a thread is caused to pause at a stack tracing time to calculate the be address of the frame from an address of the initial frame, an execution restarting address in this frame and the SP change table registered with a subroutine corresponding to this address and the initial frame size, and thus a trace of a stack is performed.

Abstract: A data storage device and method for improving the performance of data storage devices examines a command queue and performs data transfers to memory within the device before prior commands have completed. A process running in the idle loop of the controller in the storage device checks the queue for write requests and if a cache space within a dual-port cache to hold the transfer data is available, the data transfer portion of the transfer is completed, while the device is still waiting for completion of prior commands in the queue, and data transfers are completing from the cache to the physical media for the prior command.

Abstract: A multi-pole electric pulse generator contains poles having a pseudo-random distribution. Preferably, poles are equally sized and spaced, and polarity corresponds to a pseudo-noise binary sequence, which is specifically a primitive polynomial m-sequence. At one point in the rotor's revolution, all rotor poles are aligned with corresponding stator poles to provide maximum net magnetic flux through the armature windings. At all other rotor positions, the poles are misaligned so that the net flux through the armature windings is small. In operation, rotation through the misaligned rotor positions produces essentially no flux change so that no electric power is generated. When the rotor reaches the aligned position, there is a sudden, large flux change which generates a high-energy electric pulse. The exemplary application is for generating an ignition spark of an internal combustion engine.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a web server supports a client choice of audio or standard video presentation of essentially the same web content. A client passes information requesting web page content in a specific form, preferably as a newly defined argument to the URL called “pagetype”. The pagetype may specify that the client wants text only, audio only, or wants both audio and text. Preferably, a new HTML tag “audiate” is defined. An audiate tag in the HTML stream of a web page indicates how an audio version of the web content will be constructed, and optionally indicates the conditions under which the audio version will be played to the user. Specifically, the audiate tag may include one or more optional parameters, among which are one specifying a wave file containing audio content, one specifying HTML elements to be converted to audio, and one specifying a time interval for repeating the audio presentation.

Abstract: A performance analyzer for object-oriented programming code distinguishes between an object which is substantively used within the creating method, and one which is merely created in the creating method and passed back to a calling method. In the preferred embodiment, a trace record is generated when the object is first accessed, to indicate the method which caused the operation, but no trace record is generated on subsequent object accesses. The performance analyzer may parse the trace to determine whether an object access trace record occurred in the creating method, or in some other method. Preferably, the program being analyzed is written in Java, and the performance analyzer is an instrumented Java Virtual Machine (JVM), i.e., a JVM to which trace and/or other performance analytic capabilities are added.

Abstract: A method within a graphical user interface (GUI) development environment for providing cross-pane visual display correlation between widgets that reside on different visual display panes. A GUI development tool is utilized to specify a visual display relation between an influenced widget and an influencing widget. The influencing widget is displayed within a first display pane and the influenced widget is displayed within a second display pane. The specified visual display relation is encoded within a GUI development description of the second display pane such that visual continuity between the influenced widget and the influencing widget is observed when an end user traverses from the first to the second display pane.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and system of reusing a local memory space in a computer. In accordance with the invention an incoming stream of computer instructions is analyzed by an executable module to determine the presence of a first predetermined operator in the stream of computer instructions. If the first predetermined operator is present, the present invention determines the value of a parameter following the first operator in the stream and the executable module interposes a second operator in place of the first operator and reuses a local memory space to store an instance of the parameter in the memory space in response to the execution of the second operator.

Abstract: A computer hard disk drive has a drive controller that monitors the condition of the head-disk interface within the drive. In response to sensing a degradation of the head-disk interface, the drive prolongs the onset of failure by selectively altering performance parameters. In one embodiment, the internal pressure of the drive is increased to allow the air bearing surfaces of the heads to achieve a greater flying height above the surfaces of their respective disks, thereby delaying the onset of a catastrophic head-disk interface failure. In other embodiments, the spindle rotation rate and/or the slider head access rate are decreased to avoid hastening the imminent failure. Measurements of the condition and stability of the head-disk interface inside the drives are made by monitoring data error rates, head flying height, or other performance variables.

Abstract: A multi-tasking computer operating system allocates a respective virtual address space to each task. A portion of virtual address space is reserved as a shared address space (SAS) region, the SAS region occupying the same range of virtual addresses in the virtual address space of each task. Certain classes of data intended for sharing among multiple tasks are assigned unique and persistent addresses in the range of the shared address space region. Preferably, certain facilities are added to a conventional base operating system to support the SAS region and associated function. These include a join facility for initiating a task to the SAS region, an attach facility for attaching blocks of memory within the SAS region, and a paging facility for retrieving a page within the SAS region from storage. In this manner, it is possible for a multi-tasking multiple virtual address space computer system to assume the advantages of a single level store computer system when performing certain tasks.

Abstract: A way to synchronize threads in a multi-threaded program. In the preferred embodiment, a debugger provides a break-point that does not interrupt the user when the first thread reaches it; instead, the debugger halts this thread at the break-point and waits for other threads to accumulate at the break-point before the debugger notifies the user. The user can specify a condition under which this notification should occur; for example, when a specific thread or a certain number of threads have accumulated at the break-point. Once the condition is satisfied, the debugger suspends other threads that have not reached the break-point. The debugger then provides for synchronized stepping or running of the threads that are halted at the break-point.

Abstract: A method for highlighting a desired portion in an audio sequence for use in a visual display challenged environment. The method includes storing the audio sequence in memory. Next, the user selects a desired portion of the audio sequence and the selected portion is distinguished from the remainder of the audio sequence by automatically varying an audio characteristic of the selected portion during playback, without permanently altering the selected portion. In a related embodiment, the audio characteristic that is varied is pitch of the selected portion.

Abstract: To provide a method for calculating an activity degree of a method in order to effectively select a method for discarding a code. At a compilation time, a calling map concerning method calls which may happen in a method is generated and stored into a storage, and a code for recording method calls which are actually issued is generated and stored into a storage. To discard a code in such a state, all threads are temporarily stopped and the activity degree of methods indicating a possibility that the methods are actually called is calculated.

Abstract: A flatbed-type digital scanner has a vertically oriented scanning surface. Because the size of the scanner in a dimension normal to the scanning surface is significantly less than the length or width of the scanning surface, the scanner is taller than it is wide, and consumes less space on a desktop than conventional flatbed scanners. Preferably, an outer cover and an intermediate transparent cover are attached to the scanner by a hinge near the bottom. The inner surface of the outer cover has a relatively high coefficient of friction, to prevent slippage of documents. To scan a document, the outer cover is pulled down to a horizontal position, and the document is placed face-up on the outer cover, and the intermediate cover is lowered into position next to the outer cover, so that the scanned document is held in place between the two covers. The two covers are then rotated together to position the document next to the scanning surface for scanning. A latch mechanism holds the covers in place during rotation.

Abstract: A transaction tracing circuit for use with a bus bridge that is couplable to at least a first and second bus. The transaction tracing circuit includes at least one set of trace control registers that is associated with a transaction tracing function for tracing a specific transaction occurring on the bus bridge. A number of bus transaction tracing circuits, one for each bus to which the bridge is connected, are coupled to the trace control registers and are utilized to store is transactions that are captured as they occur on the individual buses. An internal transaction tracing circuit is coupled to the trace control registers and is utilized for storing captured internal transaction information corresponding to the specific internal transaction.