Abstract: An apparatus for inputting and controlling the position of a pointer on a computer screen without permitting any rotation of the apparatus relative to the marker is described. The apparatus comprises a pantagraph device, namely a plate, connect by two arms to a gripable element, and by a separate two arms to a housing, the apparatus being coupled to a position sensing system such as a mouse ball or optical sensing system. This apparatus can be used for easily and accurately controlling a pointer for painting programs and the like.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for determining the optimum angle for displaying a line on raster output devices. The preferred embodiment defines the possible adjustments of a line as it is being displayed at a raster resolution as a penalty which comprises of a weighted sum of a distance variable and an angular variable. The weight permits the user to decide between a trade-off between the fidelity to original angle and the quality of a line being displayed. To determine the optimum angle for displaying a line at a particular raster resolution, the present invention finds the angle with the smallest penalty. The optimum angle is further constrained by a plurality of variables set by the user. Once the user provides the constraints on the minimum penalty, the present invention automatically determines the optimum angle for displaying a line on a raster output devices.

Abstract: Circuit arrangements and methods are disclosed for providing trickle voltages and currents when a main power supply is unavailable or, alternatively, for providing auxiliary power. In one embodiment, a trickle power supply consists of a bilaterally conducting semiconductor diode device such as a SIDAC receiving an unregulated DC input voltage through a resistor. The SIDAC is contemplated to have a specified breakover voltage V.sub.bo and current carrying capability chosen according to designer preference. A first capacitor is coupled between the SIDAC and a primary side of a step-down pulse transformer providing a specified reduction in voltage from a secondary side relative to the voltage applied to the primary side. The resistor, the first capacitor, and the SIDAC together form a modified RC resonant circuit oscillation characteristic. When the unregulated DC input voltage is applied, the first capacitor will charge up to the breakover voltage V.sub.

Abstract: A concatenator for a first digital frame with a second digital frame, such as the ending and beginning of adjacent diphone strings being concatenated to form speech is based on determining an optimum blend point for the first and second digital frames in response to the magnitudes of samples in the first and second digital frames. The frames are then blended to generate a digital sequence representing a concatenation of the first and second frames with reference to the optimum blend point. The system operates by first computing an extended frame in response to the first digital frame, and then finding a subset of the extended frame with matches the second digital frame using a minimum average magnitude difference function over the samples in the subset. The blend point is the first sample of the matching subset.

Abstract: A user interface includes an object oriented graphic user interface having overlapping windows and provides an access window having topics, index and look for button functions for selection by a user. Through the use of the topics, index or look for functions, a help inquiry is defined. The selection of one of the button functions results in the generation and display of entries in a predefined area of the access window. Upon the selection of one of the entries by a user, phrases related to the selected entry are displayed in a working area of the access window. The selection of one of the phrases results in the display of a presentation window containing help instruction data to guide the user in the particular help task specified by the entry and phrase selection. To further assist the user, visual cues in the form of coach marks are generated for identifying features on the display which relate to the information disposed within the presentation window, but may identify any feature on the display.

Abstract: A system and method for recording video signals onto analog magnetic tape, and for the playback of those recorded signals. Such a system includes a digital luminance signal generator, a first digital chrominance signal, and a second digital chrominance signal compatible with a predetermined composite television signal standard. The chrominance signals are sample rate reduced by a sample rate reduction circuit, and then all three signals are multiplexed to generate a digital time division multiplexed video signal. This signal is frequency modulated, and then converted to an analog signal for recording onto an analog magnetic tape. This process is reversed for the playback of prerecorded signals. The signals recorded by and recovered by the present invention should be free of most artifacts related to composite television signal recording, have increased dynamic range, and have noise immunity comparable to other FM recording methods. Performance should also be independent of the type of magnetic tape used.

Abstract: A method for resetting a real-time clock of a pen-based computer system characterized by the steps of: displaying an image of an analog clock face with an hour hand and a minute hand on the screen of a pen-based computer system; determining whether a clock-setting stroke has been made with a stylus upon the image of the analog clock face; resetting the real-time clock to correspond to the clock-setting stroke; and moving at least one of the hour hand and the minute hand in response to the clock-setting stroke.

Abstract: A fuzzy logic system for processing a vector of signals includes a rule partition table stored in an electronic memory, a rule identifier, and a rule processor. The rule partition table is organized to include identifiers, each corresponding to a unique combination of partitions of signal values of the vector of signals, and each identifying fuzzy rules which are preselected to be applied to a corresponding vector of signals having signal values within respective ranges of the partitions corresponding to the identifier. Preselection may include only fuzzy rules which produce non-zero outputs when applied to a vector of signals having signal values within respective ranges of the partitions corresponding to the identifier. The rule identifier accesses a location in the rule partition table corresponding to the vector of signals, and retrieves therefrom a corresponding identifier. The rule processor applies each identified fuzzy rule to the vector of signals to produce a processed vector of signals.

Abstract: A bus interconnect device including port control logic for a communication network having a plurality of multi-port nodes that are connected with point-to-point links. Each node includes a transceiver, turn around logic that controls the transceiver, and a dominant logic physical bus that is coupled to all ports in a node. A bus interconnect device includes a first port, a second port, and a point-to-point link between the first and second ports. During arbitration, from the viewpoint of each node, the bus interconnect devices cause the plurality of physical buses to appear to be a single logical bus having a dominant logic. During data transfer following arbitration, the bus interconnect devices are configured to transmit data from the winning node to all other nodes.

Abstract: A mechanism and method for efficiently communicating information regarding particular communication rate ("speed signal") between two or more communication stations (of a communication network). The transmitter operates on the IEEE P1394 High Performance Serial Bus to supply both differential and common mode signaling required by the IEEE standard for exemplary data transfer rates of 100 and 200 Mbit transmission. The present invention includes a transmission circuit that may operate in a differential signal mode and simultaneously in a common mode signal mode both utilizing a twisted pair cable. Data may be transmitted on the twisted pair at small differential signals. Information regarding the signal speed between two coupled units may be simultaneously transmitted using variations in the common mode voltage over the twisted pair. Communication may be initiated at a slower communication rate and then upgraded as appropriate for the two units.

Abstract: The present invention is a system for discovering the topology of a network. A source node may issue ping symbols that are addressed to specific, potentially existing, target nodes. An echo symbol is always returned. The type of ping symbol determines over how many bridges the ping symbol may propagate. The type of echo symbol identifies if the addressed node is a leaf node, a non-existing node, an operating bridge node, or a non-operating bridge node. The responsibility for transforming pings into echoes belongs only to the bridge nodes. A sequence of issued ping symbols and returned echo symbols allows a source node to discover the topology of the entire network.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for producing an auxiliary voltage in a switching power supply. One or more auxiliary windings are coupled to the main inductor of the switching power supply. A synchronous switch is used in conjunction with the auxiliary winding to provide rectification and additionally provides waveform averaging which improves efficiency and voltage regulation over varying load conditions.

Abstract: The power management system tracks the total amount of power drawn from a bus by devices connected to the bus and to the bus itself, based on the individual operational status of each device. The power manager system also tracks the total amount of power supplied to the bus. From this information the power manager system determines whether a power surplus exists sufficient to allow an additional device to operate or to allow a currently operating device to draw more power. Power usage requests received from devices connected to the bus are granted or denied by the power management system based on the determination of available power. The power management system additionally is capable of sequencing the use of several devices to allow the devices to each operate while maintaining the total power draw within an acceptable range. The system provides for efficient use of a limited amount of power to allow operation of more devices than conventionally allowed with a bus.

Abstract: A method of extended file access that allows a program running on a computer to access file types, beyond the "standard" file types whose formats have been pre-defined to the operating system, by placing the extended file data in a range of addresses outside the range of addresses of the recorded file data. The extended file data is accessed by positioning a file pointer to a location in the extended range of addresses, and accessing the extended file data at the location of the file pointer. A further embodiment includes preventing further access until the file pointer is repositioned. In this way, extended file data, such as additional characteristics of the file, can be accessed, though these characteristics are not specifically known to the operating system.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for vector quantization. A threshold generator generates an i threshold (Threshold.sub.i) to be associated with each i quantized vector of n quantized vectors in a vector quantization codebook. The vector quantization codebook and the thresholds are used by a vector quantizer to encode a set of input vectors (V.sub.1 -V.sub.TOT). The determination that a distance between a vector to be encoded and a quantized vector in a codebook is less than the associated threshold causes a search for the closest vector to terminate for a nearest neighbor vector quantizer. In some embodiments, the vectors comprise samples of continuous signals for sound containing speech, or display signals. In other embodiments, codebook vectors are arranged from most frequently encoded vectors to least frequently encoded vectors.

Abstract: A minimal instruction set computer architecture (hyperscalar computer architecture) comprises a central memory, an instruction buffer, a control unit, an I/O control unit, a plurality of functional units, a plurality of register files, and a data router. In the hyperscalar computer architecture, the central memory transfers a plurality of instructions to the instruction buffer. The control unit receives multiple instructions from the instruction buffer, and automatically determines and issues the largest subset of instructions from those received that can be simultaneously issued to the plurality of functional units. Each functional unit receives data from and returns computational results to a corresponding register file. The data router serves to transfer data between each register file and any other register file, the central memory, the control unit, or the I/O control unit.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating patching resources in an information processing system having operating instructions on a Read Only Memory Device. The present invention simplifies the patch generation and installation processes. A patch resource is generated and used by a patch installation process. Patch resources are generated for each ROM version by comparing previous ROM versions to the new ROM version. A patch resource is comprised of a plurality of entries, each of which defines a vector table address, an offset into the vector table and the routine to be inserted. By comparing routines between the ROM versions, routines which are different or new are identified. These routines will become patch resource entries. For patch installation, the ROM version number for the installed ROM is determined; the proper patching resource is retrieved, and the patch resource entries cause the patches to be installed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a computer system coupled to a network for altering information in said network by the computer system. A process is inserted between two lower layers of the ISO/OSI model. The process then receives a packet from a first layer of the ISO/OSI model, and determines whether a criteria comprising a set of conditions has been determined in the packet. If any of the set of criteria is present in the packet then the packet is transformed into a modified packet according to a predefined action. Then, the modified packet is transmitted to a second layer of the ISO/OSI model. In different embodiments the layers may be either higher or lower relative to one another in order that incoming or outgoing packets be modified. The method may also be performed under control of a user-generated script, or by remote control from another node. The method may also employ user-generated processes for condition (criteria) checking and/or modifications.