Abstract: A communications cable for use in buried environments in an outside plant includes a core (22) comprising at least one transmission medium and a mechanically strengthened, thermal resistant barrier layer (40) disposed about a plastic tubular member (23). A metallic shield (32) and a plastic jacket (36) are disposed about the barrier. The barrier layer may comprise a tape (41) which is made of a material such as woven glass or an aramid fibrous material, for example, which is resistant to relatively high temperatures, which has suitable strength properties in all directions and at elevated temperatures and which is characterized by properties which cause the barrier layer to impede the passage therethrough of particles which are sufficiently large to cause damage to the core. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal barrier layer also includes provisions for preventing the longitudinal flow of water within the cable.

Abstract: Disclosed is a three-dimensional circuit structure particularly useful in semiconductor memories. The circuit structure consists of a stack of modules mounted on a mother board with connectors between adjacent modules in the stack. The connectors mate with staggered and through terminals on the modules; the staggered terminals being used for circuits routed to destinations on specific modules and the through terminals for circuits routed to destinations on more than one module.

Abstract: Asynchronous-synchronous digital signal conversion and vice versa are realized by employing a single synchronizing elastic store and associated phase detector. The signal smoothing and synchronization processes are achieved with a single elastic store by low pass filtering the elastic store write-read address separation signal from the phase detector to obtain a smooth stuff control signal. In turn, the smooth stuff control signal is employed to make a stuff decision for controlling the elastic store read clock signal. In a specific embodiment the low pass filtering is realized by first synchronously sampling the write-read address separation signal and, then, employing a digital low pass filter to obtain the aliasing free smooth stuff control signal.

Abstract: A received digital signal is synchronized with a receiver in a communications network by employing a code word which is updated in accordance with a unique update technique. The synchronization arrangement receives the digital signal at a receiver, generates an error check code word over a prescribed portion of the received digital signal and compares the generated error check code word with an expected error check code word in the received digital signal. In response to the comparison result, the generation of the code word and the comparison is iteratged until synchronization is obtained. A new code word is generated as a function of a modified version of the last previously generated code word (previous code word), a function term based on a set of bits dropped from the prescribed portion of the received digital signal, and a set of bits added to the prescribed portion of the received digital signal. In one embodiment, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code word is employed.

Abstract: An optical fiber amplifier has a lossy nonlinear medium connected between its input port and its output port. The resultant optical feedback loop permits remote gain switching of the optical amplifier.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory cell with parallel gates is disclosed. The direction of the gates is desirably chosen to minimize lithographic astigmatic effects. Thus gates of comparatively uniform width are produced and predictability of transistor performance thereby improved. Another embodiment of the invention features a connetion between two conductive layers and a source/drain. The connection forms a node between one access transistor and one pull-down transistor.

Abstract: The present invention provides an amusement system having a play zone consisting, in combination, of a plurality of game stages and including a travel path extending through the respective game stages; at least one carrier for receiving a player or players thereon and for moving along the travel path while causing the player or players to play a game at each of the game stages; a score processor for processing the score of the player or the scores of the players; and a representing device for representing the game in each of the game stages, the representing device providing a multi-story game by changing the game presentation mode at a game stage through which the carrier is moving or will move, depending on the total carrier score won by the player or players on the carrier.

Abstract: Process for coating articles with thin film of diamond, and related diamond-like materials, using an electrophoretic technique. Diamond particles are suspended in a liquid electrolyte and subjected to a directional field which causes migration and deposition on a selected substrate electrode.

Abstract: A pipeline scraper comprising an elongated scraper body of preferably elastomeric solid material, having at least one annular sealing surface on both sides of a section having a smaller diameter, the distance between the sealing surfaces being equal to or smaller than the internal diameter of the pipeline, whereby on both sides of the section having a smaller diameter, at least one annular ridge-like, radial lip is provided which has a height which is at most a fifth to a tenth of the radius of the scraper body in the area of the sealing lip, with the distance of the scraper body from the pipeline in the area of the sealing lip corresponding to the 0.5- to 0.75-fold of the height of the lip and the sealing lip being formed and dimensioned such that upon getting into contact with the pipeline wall it is deflected and bent-off, respectively, such that the associated edge and the lateral face of the sealing lip get into contact with the pipeline wall, however, still leave a space to the scraper body.

Abstract: Graceful degradation for digitally encoded HDTV signals is achieved by appropriately coding the image to provide a controllable degradation of chosen image characteristics, such as temporal degradation, spatial degradation, and dynamic range degradation. In the temporal degradation approach of this invention, the resolution of movement suffers when noise is introduced. In the spatial degradation approach, the spatial resolution of the image is sacrificed. In the range degradation approach, the dynamic range of the signals is sacrificed. The graceful degradation is achieved by dividing the transmitted signal into two or more parts, such as parts A, B and C. Part A is given the heaviest error-correcting code; part B is given a "medium" error correcting code; and part C the is given the least powerful error correcting code (or perhaps none at all). A receiver that is close to the transmitter most likely receives parts A, B and C.

Abstract: This invention is a process for etching copper sheets on insulating boards for use in fabricating multilayer printed circuit boards. The improvement resides in adding to a standard copper etching solution certain alkyltrimethyl ammonium chlorides with alkyl chain lengths ranging from 6 to 20 carbon atoms in amounts sufficient to yield intermediate kinetics behavior. Of special interest are dodecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride and octadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride present in an amount of from 0.01 to 1.0 wt %. A silicon-based antiforming agent may be added in amounts of from 0.05 to 2.0 wt. % to prevent an unacceptably large amount of foam from occurring during etching. With this formulation, the rate is mass transport controlled at low rates and almost independent of mass transport at high rates due to the inhibition of the surface reaction rate.

Abstract: An optical fiber connector (22) which is assembled to a coupling housing (90) by causing only relative linear motion between the connector and the housing and which also includes facilities for preventing optical disconnection from another connector having a portion disposed in the housing includes a cap (45) having two diametrically opposed slots (53--53) each having an enlarged portion (57). A barrel (42) is retained within the cap and has mounted thereto a ferrule (40) in which is terminated an end portion of an optical fiber (21) which is to be connected to another optical fiber. The connector is moved to cause the ferrule to enter a sleeve (92) of a housing of a coupling (35) and to cause locking pins (96--96) of the housing to enter and to be moved along the slots of the cap until each pin is received in an enlarged portion of a slot. A cap extender (60) is connected to an end of the cap and includes an annular detent (63).

Abstract: Methods of forming a chemical barrier against the transmission of disease-causing microbes and other harmful agents through a membrane such as latex. In the principal method, a mold or former is coded with a coagulant, which is dried, and then the former is dipped into liquid latex, which is allowed to gel, and then the former is dipped into a solution containing the biocide, and then the former is dipped again into the liquid latex, after which the entire coating on the former is cured. Alternatively, the biocide may be sprayed otherwise applied onto the gelled latex.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a transparent display, such as an LCD, is provided with back reflector having a plurality of reflecting facets angularly displaced with respect to the plane of the display cell so as to enhance contrast of the display without consumption of additional power while reducing glare. Advantageously the reflecting facets are oriented to concentrate reflection to a viewer of light above the viewer and light coming from over the viewer's shoulder. The result of such concentration is a display having backlit visual characteristics without the consumption of backlighting power. Preferred embodiments are disclosed for vertical and horizontal mounting.

Abstract: Disclosed is an optical fiber distribution frame which comprises trays including panels of optical connectors. Each tray is slidably mounted in the frame and can be pivoted downward to provide front access to the fibers and connectors in the frame.

Abstract: An interactive image editor. Editing commands are interactively imputted to a computer by a user to form an image transformation function. The commands define how to alter the pixels of the image and the portions of the image to alter. The editor parses the commands and generates a program for performing the image transformation. The program is then executed, either by interpreting it or by first compiling it on-the-fly. In either case, each affected pixel of the image is transformed in accordance with the command statements.

Abstract: An integrated circuit (11) is tested at a high microwave frequency through the use of a laser beam (19) having a repetition rate much lower than the test frequency. Electric fields of the test signal extend into an electro-optic material (12) that modulates part of the laser beam. Another part of the laser beam is converted to an electrical pulsed signal that is applied to a microwave mixer (33) along with part of the test frequency signal. A harmonic of the pulsed signal mixes with the test frequency to yield a difference frequency that can be used as a phase reference for analyzing the phase of the test signal. The component pulses (30) of the laser beam have a pulse width which is much shorter than the separation of the pulses, which make it inherently rich in higher harmonics of the fundamental pulse repetition rate.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a technique which provides swift and easy error correction and detection on one or more fault-tolerant redundant storage devices. In the presence technique, an information packet including (a) the destined storage location identifier in a first section, (b) the information in a second section, and (c) a unique monotonically increasing number in a third section, is sent by a processor to one or more redundant storage device controllers for storage in relative locations of the redundant storage device(s), where the monotonically increasing number is incremented and applied to each sequential information packet to be stored on the redundant storage device(s).

Abstract: An integrated circuit device (11) is tested by directing a laser beam (19) onto an electrochromic member (17) in close proximity to a conductor (13) of the integrated circuit. Reflected laser light is directed to a detector (21) which converts it to an electrical signal for display by a lock-in amplifier (25). The display characterizes the voltage on the conductor (17) and thereby permits diagnosis of the operation of the integrated circuit (11).

Abstract: Individual equipment units are adapted to be connected to a Telemetry Byte Oriented Serial (TBOS) protocol communication link in a bussed fashion. This allows more than one equipment unit to be monitored and controlled over a single TBOS communication link. Each equipment unit includes a multipoint receiver for receiving request messages from and a multipoint transmitter for transmitting response messages to the TBOS communication link. An additional multipoint receiver is adapted to receive response messages from other equipment units being monitored and controlled over the TBOS communication link. When a particular equipment unit is designated either a backup unit or an auxiliary backup unit, it is enabled to transmit response messages for the other equipment units being monitored and controlled if they do not respond in a prescribed interval.