Abstract: A pen-based system for reflowing handwritten ink objects is disclosed. The system divides the ink objects into paragraphs by identifying groups of ink objects separated from other groups by predefined distances. Each such paragraph is classified as either a graphics paragraph or a text paragraph; graphics paragraphs are formatted according to a graphics formatting protocol and text paragraphs are formatted according to a text formatting protocol. In addition, the system writes formatted paragraphs to destinations where they are displayed. The destination may be a screen on which the ink objects were originally written by a user and/or a printed page, a computer monitor, etc.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting speech activity in an input signal. The present invention includes performing begin point detection using power/zero crossing. Once the begin point has been detected, the present invention uses the cepstrum of the input signal to determine the endpoint of the sound in the signal. After both the beginning and ending of the sound are detected, the present invention uses vector quantization distortion to classify the sound as speech or noise.

Abstract: A printer and a method for printing is described in which bleed between secondary color regions having different colors is minimized by the formation of a border strip which has a color which is common to both secondary color regions. In a printer assembly which includes a print head for depositing ink onto a media, an improved image may be formed by processing the data before the image is printed such that a border strip is formed between adjoining regions of different secondary colors. The border strip is printed in a color which is common to both of the secondary color regions. Thus, because the color which is common to both secondary color regions is printed in the border region, the contrast between the three areas of different colors is minimized. In addition, the reduced volume of ink within the border strip further minimized ink bleed. Thus, a border strip which is significantly less visible to the naked eye, is formed which minimizes bleed between the two secondary color regions.

Abstract: In an electronic device powered by a battery, a method of determining a charge of the battery. Initially, a discharge curve specifying the battery's voltage as a function of time is determined. This discharge curve is calibrated according to actual measurements. Next, a battery state model is established. The battery state model is comprised of a number of discrete charge states. The probability of the actual battery's charge for a particular charge state is specified by the battery state model for each of the charge states. The battery's voltage is periodically measured. Based on the measured voltage and the discharge curve, a voltage probability distribution is computed. The battery discharge model is updated by applying Bayes theorem to the old discharge model and the voltage probability distribution. The charge of the battery based on a mean value of the battery discharge model is then displayed.

Abstract: Improved proprecessing and postprocessing for vector quantization, for example, for encoding an image. In one embodiment, the luminosity of the vectors in an image are used to determine the codes for vector quantization. In another embodiment, a median filter is performed to eliminate motion artifacts. In another embodiment, temporal filtering is applied once the difference between an earlier frame and a current frame exceeds a threshold. Embodiments are also provided for adaptive temporal filtering based on temporal "no change" blocks and their errors. Embodiments are provided for different regions of images which reference different codebooks, and regions of variable size. Embodiments are also provided for shared and variable size codebooks for different images or other data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for recognizing a gesture input on a display screen of a computer system. A stroke is input by a user on the screen, and the stroke is smoothed by reducing the number of points that define the stroke. The number of points are reduced by calculating a weighted position for a new point between two adjacent points that are within a threshold distance, and replacing a plurality of points that are separated by less than the threshold distance with the new point. The stroke is also normalized by dividing coordinates of the points by a scaling factor and storing selected points of the stroke in a prototype buffer. The normalized stroke is matched to one or more of a plurality of gesture prototypes by utilizing a correlation score that is calculated for each prototype. The gesture prototypes preferably include standard gestures having standardized shapes as well as gestures input by a user, and include bracket and pigtail gestures.

Abstract: An enclosure for a personal computer having a latch and release mechanism having at least two parallel cantilevered arms that allow the mechanism to have both strength for holding the enclosure to the personal computer and restrained flexibility that causes the distal end of the latch and release mechanism to travel translationally for releasing the enclosure.

Abstract: An interactive audio-visual (A/V) transceiver is advantageously coupled to a television and/or telephone (T/T) cable, a TV, a video recorder (VCR), and other A/V devices. The A/V transceiver switches data between a program/service provider and the connected A/V devices. In one embodiment, the transceiver includes three primary modules, a main module including a CPU, a system bus, system memory, an infra-red (IR) control unit, an audio-visual bus, an A/V decoder, an A/V processor, and an A/V encoder, an A/V connect module including a number of tuner/demodulators and a switch, and an optional CD ROM module. The A/V transceiver hardware is complemented with an operating system and software program which supports the functions provided in the A/V user interface.

Abstract: A method for correcting recognized words in a computer system including the steps of: (a) entering an ink object into a computer system with a pointing device; (b) recognizing the ink object as a word object; (c) displaying the word object on a display of the computer system; (d) detecting a correction request made by a user pertaining to the displayed word object; and (e) displaying a list of alternative words for the word object on the display. Preferably, the list of alternative words includes a shifted-case version of the word object, a number of alternative words provided by a word recognizer, and the original ink object that was entered into the computer system. A user can select one of these alternative words to replace the misrecognized word object. Alternatively, a user may enter a word into the computer system by means of a keyboard image to replace the original word object with the newly entered word.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for efficiently translating data from one known data sequencing arrangement to an alternative sequencing arrangement. The method consists of the steps of generating a source sequence signal which identifies the ordering of units within the source sequence, generating a destination sequence signal which identifies the ordering of units within the destination sequence, and combining the source signal and destination signal to produce a permutation signal which defines the relationship between the source sequence and the destination sequence. Once the permutation signal has been defined, this permutation signal is applied to the source sequence to allow the reordering of the source sequence into the desired destination sequence. A reordering circuit is used to rearrange the source sequence units into the desired destination sequence units utilizing the permutation signal generated in the present invention.

Abstract: A method for providing objects to a rendering circuit. The method comprises the steps of: generating an active list, the active including a first subset of the objects; accessing the first subset of objects from the first memory; storing the first subset of objects in a second memory, the second memory having a faster access time than the first memory, and providing the active list to the rendering circuit.

Abstract: An object-oriented audio signal processing system is disclosed. The signal processing system is capable of converting virtually any sound resource into a format which can be used by associated sound hardware to produce a sound. A signal processing system incorporating the invention comprises one or more chains formed by a plurality of sound objects serially connected. A sound object is a specialized task which performs a particular operation such as, for example, sample rate conversion of a sound resource, decompression of a sound resource, mixing multiple sound resources or retrieving sound resources from a software application. The sound objects are preferably modular and use substantially the same calling conventions and interface. A chain of sound objects processes digital audio signals into an output which can be maintained in a storage area, e.g. memory or disk or played on sound hardware.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides a system and method of decoupling the address and data buses of a system bus using side band information signals. A computer system with which the invention may be used has a system bus including an address bus and a data bus and has, operatively connected to said system bus, multiple master devices, including a microprocessor, and multiple slave devices. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the address bus and the data bus are decoupled by providing, in addition to signals carried by the system bus, first side-band signals including, for each master device besides the microprocessor, an address arbitration signal, and providing, in addition to signals carried by the system bus, second side-band signals including, for each slave device, an address termination signal, a data arbitration signal, and a read-ready signal indicating that a respective slave device has data to present on the system bus.

Abstract: In a driver circuit for a twisted pair cable, a compensator for preventing appreciable common mode current flow into or out of the twisted pair cable in response to the device receiving a wide range of common mode voltage bias levels. A wide range of external bias voltages may be received as a result of variations in the ground node voltages of two coupled devices. The compensator circuit utilizes a feed back loop and monitors the bias voltage received on the twisted pair cable. As the magnitude of the common mode current increases due to external bias voltage variation from a reference bias voltage, the current flow of p-channel transistors, coupled in an arrangement of the present invention, is increased (or decreased, as necessary) so that reduced common mode current flows onto the twisted pair cable. The present invention reduces appreciable common mode current flow through the twisted pair cable from the driver that are due to variations in the external bias voltage between communication devices.

Abstract: A recognition system for a pen-based computer system characterized by: a tablet for inputting strokes from a stylus; a low-level recognizer responsive to the strokes and operative to perform low-level recognition on the strokes; a high-level recognizer responsive to at least some of the strokes and operative to perform high-level recognition on those strokes; and a recognition interface permitting communication between the recognizers and an application program. The high-level recognizer includes a controller capable of receiving units to be recognized; a number of recognition domains coupled to the controller, where each of the recognition domains can receive one or more units from the controller and is capable of providing an interpretation of the meaning of the one or more units to the controller; and an arbiter coupled to the controller which is capable of resolving conflicts between multiple interpretations developed by the recognition domains.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing thermal management to a computer system where the internal temperature is measured and, based on the temperature, heat generated in the computer system is reduced by turning off a portion of the system. When the portion of the system is off, no power is consumed by that portion. Accordingly, no heat is generated as well. In this manner, the heat generated in the computer system is reduced.

Abstract: An object oriented message passing system for transferring messages between a client task and a server task comprises an object database, an object management unit, a message transaction unit, and a locking unit. The object management unit creates a port object and one or more associated message objects. The message transaction unit matches a send message request issued by a client task with an acceptance function or with a receive message request issued by a server task. In response to a send message request, the message transaction unit creates a send message control block. In response to a receive message request, the message transaction unit creates a delivery message control block if the receive message request matches the send message control block, or creates a receive message control block if the receive message request does not match the send message control block.

Abstract: A method for manipulating notes on a screen of a computer display is provided. Each note area may include graphical, text, and data objects. An initial note area is provided with a header bar which includes the date of creation, the note number, and/or other indicia. When a user desires to make a new note, a division gesture is made on the computer display by moving a stylus horizontally across the screen. Once a division gesture is detected, the height of the preceding note is determined, and the height of the new note is considered to be indefinite or infinite. Each new division gesture creates a new header bar for the new note indicating the date of creation, the note number, and/or other pertinent information.

Abstract: A protocol for use in a system including a first node, a second node and, in some instances, a third node, each of the first, second and third nodes coupled to each other of the first, second and third nodes by a point to point packet-based communication system defines transactions for transferring variable amounts of data from one node to another. A GET transaction allows an instigator node to send a packet to a partner node. The packet specifies data length, and an address in the partner node's resource. A PUT transaction similarly allows an instigator node to send a packet specifying a response port identifier, a data length and an address in a partner node's resource to which data is to be written. A PROXY transaction is disclosed which allows an instigator node to cause a source partner node to send data to a target (destination) partner node. Other transactions are also disclosed. In each instance, port identifiers accompany packets in order to associate received data with a particular transaction.

Abstract: A bus system uses separate clocks for arbitration and data transfer. The arbitration clock signal is used for synchronizing bus request and grant events, and the data clock signal is used for synchronizing data transmission and reception. In particular, the data clock signal, which is generated by a bus master node without any temporal relationship to the arbitration clock signal, is transmitted by the bus master node through the bus to a slave node, where the received data signal is synchronized with the data clock signal transmitted therewith.